GulfStar Group Awarded Industrial Services – Corporate Strategic Acquisition Deal of the Year by ACG Houston

HOUSTON, May 5, 2023 – The Association for Corporate Growth (“ACG”) Houston announced GulfStar Group (“GulfStar”) as a winner at the Sixth Annual Deal of the Year Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at the River Oaks Country Club. The Acquisition of C&D Scrap Metal by Merchants Metal Recycling, a portfolio company of Company of Merchants, led by Managing Directors Cliff Atherton and Tom Hargrove, won Industrial Services – Corporate Strategic Acquisition Deal of the Year.

Since 1979, C&D has been the Greater Houston Area’s premier scrap metal recycler. Led by Co-Founders Cindy and Dennis Laviage, C&D has become a household name across Houston given the team’s emphasis on and successful execution of its retail advertising campaigns. The Laviages built unrivaled brand recognition via near-constant television and radio commercials, establishing the now ubiquitous “We Pay You in $2 Bills!” trademark, which generated over 14.6 million television and 15.0 million radio impressions in 2021 alone.

“We are truly honored to be recognized by ACG Houston and our industry peers,” said Tom Hargrove, co-founder of GulfStar. “We would like to congratulate the Laviages and Company of Merchants for a successful transaction and acknowledge BoyarMiller, Chamberlain Hrdlicka and Amegy Bank for their considerable efforts.”

ACG Houston’s event celebrated the city’s booming middle-market deal community, honoring the deals and dealmakers who drive middle market growth and their success in generating job growth, capital formation and the advancement of meaningful business relationships in the Houston community. The finalists and winners were selected by an independent panel of esteemed judges and top business leaders and educators, including: Gustavo Grullon, PhD, Professor of Finance at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University; Ernest Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of The Frenchy’s Companies; Amy Nelson, President and Founder of Greenridge Advisors, LLC; Jennifer Whalen, Chief Financial Officer of The Bristow Group Inc.; Ken Wiles, PhD, CFA, Executive Director of Hick, Muse, Tate & Furst Center for Private Equity Finance; and A. Kelly Williams, Managing Director at Milestone Venture Group, Inc.

To view a list of ACG Houston’s Sixth Annual Deal of the Year Award winners, please click here.

About ACG Houston
ACG Houston is the region’s premier association focused on middle market corporate growth. Our goal is to help business professionals in the M&A community do more business with the right partners. ACG Houston hosts a variety of events throughout the year to provide our local business leaders an opportunity to gain visibility and connect with people and ideas to strategically grow companies. To learn more or become a member visit acg.org/houston or contact Morgan Stone at mstone@acg.org.

About GulfStar Group
GulfStar is a leading middle market investment bank headquartered in Houston. GulfStar specializes in providing merger and acquisition advisory services, institutional private placements of equity and debt, and general corporate finance advisory services to companies with revenues ranging from $25 million to $350. Since its formation in 1990, GulfStar has completed approximately 750 transactions in 37 states and 17 foreign countries across a variety of industries.