FON Advisors represents Highlight Technologies in its conversion to a 100% Employee-Owned Company
Arlington, VA., November 30, 2022 – FON Advisors, LLC announced that it acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Highlight Technologies Inc. on its second-stage transaction to being 100% owned by an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). This follows the first-stage minority ESOP transaction in April 2021, and completes the vision of the Company’s founder and CEO, Rebecca Andino, in providing an entrepreneurial workplace culture for talented and hard-working individuals.
Highlight Technologies is a Fairfax, VA-based provider of Mission Solutions and Digital Government services to U.S. federal civil and defense customers, and closed last year at $245M of Revenue. It has a diverse portfolio of contracts supporting 19 Federal agencies with a holistic suite of capabilities
Managing Director Cameron Hamilton served as lead investment banker on the transaction.
Highlight’s ESOP will benefit its managers and executives and provide significant long-term benefits to its employees through employer contributions. “Completing our transformation into one of the leading 100% employee-owned companies in the government services sector ensures that Highlight can fully focus on curating a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion, teamwork, and transparency – all while continuing to deliver excellent solutions to our customers. Our employees are able to directly participate in building up the equity capital of their Company as it continues to expand in scale and capabilities,” said Highlight President Adam McNair.
Ms. Andino noted, “FON navigated us through the 100% ESOP process from start to finish. They helped us communicate our company’s value proposition and financials effectively and helped us put our best foot forward. When we encountered problems, they worked with the financial and legal teams to come up with solutions and keep everyone moving forward. The FON team was extremely professional and hard-working, and I am so grateful to have worked with them on this transaction.”
Ms. Andino will transition from the role of CEO to become the Chair of the Board of Directors.
Financing for the ESOP buyout was led by JPMorgan Chase (www.jpmorganchase.com), with Sandy Spring Bank (www.sandyspringbank.com) and Eagle Bank (www.eaglebankcorp.com) as syndication partners. Holland & Knight (www.hklaw.com) served as legal counsel to JPMC for the financing. Bean Kinney Korman (www.beankinney.com) served as legal counsel to the Company, with Argent Financial (www.argentfinancial.com) continuing in its role as Trustee. Stout (www.stout.com) provided the fairness opinion for the transaction.
Contact information is as follows:
Jason R. Frank
Chief Executive Officer
FON Corporate Finance, LLC
Phone: 312-481-6557
jfrank@fonadvisors.com
Cameron Hamilton
Managing Director
FON Corporate Finance, LLC
Phone: 703-214-7009
chamilton@fonadvisors.com
ABOUT US: FON Corporate Finance is a middle-market investment bank providing objective strategic and financial advice to its broad array of clients. We specialize in providing M&A advice, private capital raising, and other financial advisory services to privately-owned businesses, divisions of large corporate parents, and portfolio companies of private equity firms focused on the ADG industry. Our services are built on comprehensive industry knowledge, extensive transaction experience, senior-level attention to every client engagement, and a real-time understanding of industry-specific value drivers.
FON Corporate Finance, LLC is a SEC-registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. The information contained in this communication is not intended to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or a recommendation to purchase any security. Investment banking products and services within the United States are offered exclusively through FON Corporate Finance, LLC. For more information, visit https://fonadvisors.com/services/investment-banking/.