Lower Middle Market Weekly Outlook

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, all. It should be a quiet day with the markets closed.

Transactions:

• Electra to buy Hotter Shoes
• IBM closes acquisition of Aspera
• Curtis Bay Medical Waste to acquire Culver Enterprises

Events:

• Tuesday: Axial’s Winter Summit East — Sold out!
• AM&AA Winter Conference — look for Axial there
• Entrepreneur Magazine’s Growth Conference 2014 on Wednesday

Opinions:

• Do you know what makes your company distinctive?
• Deutsche Bank warns of challenges ahead in 2014
• Private equity funds are increasingly tailor-made
• Reinvesting record net cash is both an opportunity and a test for PE investors
• You’ll earn 25%-33% more working for a PE fund than a hedge fund

This week in history… Talks begin for Cadbury Schweppes to buy the Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Company for $1.7 billion (1995).