“Focus to Achieve”

Making the best strategic decision in any corporate finance transaction necessitates expertise, drive, and ingenuity. Iliya Zogovic, CEO of DBD Partners, says, "We specialize in mergers and acquisitions, financial restructuring, capital formation, and corporate finance strategy guidance." Iliya Zogovic is not only the CEO of DBD Partners. He is also an advisor to several businesses and non-profit organizations and the former Treasurer of the YPO Liberty Chapter Treasurer and former Learning Officer of the Organizations Global Financial Services Network.

Iliya Zogovic possesses a unique blend of technical abilities and meticulous attention to detail, resulting in high-quality work and extraordinary results. He honed his technical skills via self-study, continuous education, and his time at Harvard Business School. Mr. Zogovic has over 20 years of experience in business and banking, paired with his practice as an ultra-endurance athlete and aspiring mountaineer, making an explosive combination. Out of this unusual blend of interests and expertise comes his attention to detail and concentration on high-quality results and work. “The most important thing is that we are only as strong as our most vulnerable link. As a result, I devote a significant amount of time to recruiting and training the proper people,” says Zogovic. “That translates into a culture of high achievers that love to work hard and give their best all the time....we also play hard, though.”

DBD Partners guides its clients through their most strategic and complex business challenges, which include helping them raise capital the right way. For a long time, DBD Partners has been assisting on both buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions and helping some clients through complex restructuring processes. “We have a very streamlined process based on decades of wall street experience and a highly skilled team. This allows us to tackle the most complex deals and situations and come out triumphant," says Zogovic.

 

DBD Partners is focused on becoming the premier investment bank in the USA, focused solely on serving companies in the lower middle market. Usually, the companies they work with have enterprise values between 20 and 200 million.

“We face competition, but our commitment to high-quality work and attention to detail always sets us apart. We are also very particular about whom we decide to work with, which gives us an edge. We only engage with great companies and great entrepreneurs.”

“A few years ago, we were approached by a client who was on the verge of going out of business due to some circumstances out of his control and unfortunate luck. We restructured their debt and assisted in reorganizing their finances and cap table. A few years later, we took them to market and received multiple offers for more than $100 million.”

“Another client came to us looking for help with an industry roll-up. We began by identifying suitable targets and assisting them with a few smaller acquisitions before securing the financing to pursue more significant acquisitions. Since we were first engaged, the company's enterprise value has tripled, and it continues to increase with our assistance.”

“In yet another restructuring case, we were able to prevent forced liquidation of our client by their bank. We handled everything from ongoing negotiations with their bank to creating all necessary models and documentation to secure the required funds. Negotiating terms and conditions, conducting due diligence, and so on... the company is once again prospering and growing. We were able to save 600+ jobs.”

Some of DBD Partners’ proudest achievements were when they saved customers from bankruptcy through a well-executed restructure. But they are also incredibly proud when they assist clients in realizing the value created over years or decades of hard work through a successful sell-side process. They have invested, and continue to do so, countless hours and resources developing the best buy-side process and, with it, assisted clients in executing their expansion and consolidation goals.They plan to keep focusing on the lower middle market and expanding their business to provide the best in class services to business owners, entrepreneurs, and family-owned companies all over the USA, Canada, and Europe. DDB Partners is committed to the lower middle market and will continue assisting this sector. They are also growing their early-stage and startup practice that provides high-quality, professional investment banking services in M&A and capital formation to this critical sector of our economy.

The United States is experiencing the most significant wealth transfer in history as the baby boomer generation is starting to retire. The vast majority of them are trying to sell their businesses. This trend is poised to continue for the next decade. With this trend paired with liquidity in the market fueling private equity, buyout firms, and industry consolidations, the future growth of M&A and with that, the opportunity for business owners to harvest value is all but guaranteed.

“On multiple occasions, we have successfully guided our clients through the process of selling their firms and often secured them higher enterprise values than expected with very favorable terms and deal structures. A combination of high enterprise value and a correctly structured deal is the best outcome for our client. Sometimes easier said than done.”