The Story

In 2006, Technical Associates ("TA"), an engineering company, was bought by its employees. The founding owners sold the company to the employees via a seller financed ESOP transaction. The new management team focused on reducing the initial debt to a point where they could seek more attractively priced bank financing. The company was also seeking a new relationship with a bank that would give them great customer service and could be responsive to their quickly-changing liquidity needs.

 

ACB's strategy:
Many other banks were intimidated by refinancing the complicated ESOP transaction, but Atlantic Capital Bank was ready to take on the challenge. Chris Deisley, Senior Vice President at Atlantic Capital, worked closely with TA to understand their business, the nuances of their company, and the people working there. He then led a team from the bank to complete the complicated transaction. "Because of the complexity of the deal, it was a hard one," says John Hogue, partner at Technical Associates. "We all had to spend a lot of time working together. Chris and his group were attentive and patient with us, and vice versa, and we got the deal done. It was complex, but we are happy with the final result."

"As we've continued to work with them, Atlantic Capital has done a very good job of being responsive and proactive," said Graham Thompson, partner. "I appreciate their reporting structure, which allows us to look at things six months out. That means there are no surprises for us or the bank. However, when our needs do change quickly, we know we have Atlantic Capital's support. Very recently we had a business expansion opportunity, and we needed to increase our access to cash. Chris and his team understood our need immediately, and began working on an increase to our line of credit. There were no hoops to jump through - just a good team to work with."

 

 

"Atlantic Capital helped us successfully refinance our debt, which resulted in a lower interest rate and allowed us to invest more money back into the company," said Hogue.  "Overall, we've been very pleased. I can see this being a long term relationship, and I look forward to seeing how the bank can help us expand our business in the future."