GulfStar Group Awarded Retail Manufacturing & Distribution Deal of the Year by M&A Advisor

HOUSTON, April 27, 2016 – The M&A Advisor announced GulfStar Group (“GulfStar”) as a winner at the 8th Annual International M&A Advisor Awards for Retail Manufacturing and Distribution Deal of the Year for the acquisition of XL Parts by Marubeni, led by Managing Directors Cliff Atherton and Tom Hargrove.

“We are honored to be the recipients of this cross-border award,” said Tom Hargrove. “We would like to congratulate both XL Parts and Marubeni, as well as acknowledge the other professional services firms involved in this transaction (BoyarMiller and Paul Hastings) and recognize them for their considerable effort.”

Over the past several years, foreign strategic buyers have typically represented approximately 30% of the strategic buyer universe that GulfStar contacts on behalf of its clients in a given year. Since 2014 however, despite the U.S. dollar’s strong performance, GulfStar has seen a considerable uptick in interest on the part of foreign buyers for companies based in the United States. Over this time period, as a percent of enterprise value, 64% of GulfStar’s completed deals have gone to strategic buyers, with approximately 60% of those buyers also being based abroad. Reflective of this inbound M&A in the U.S. on the part of global corporate buyers is the fact that GulfStar has completed transactions with counterparties in Mexico, Japan, Scotland, France, China, Italy and Slovenia since 2014 alone.

In addition to winning Retail Manufacturing and Distribution Deal of the Year, GulfStar was also nominated as a finalist for Energy Deal of the Year; Corporate & Strategic Acquisition of the Year ($10MM – $25MM, $25MM – $50MM and over $100MM – $500MM); U.S. – Asia Deal of the Year; and Cross-Border M&A Deal of the Year (over $100MM – $250MM).

“Since 2002, we have been honoring the leading M&A transactions, companies and dealmakers. GulfStar was chosen from over 250 participating companies to receive the award. It gives us great pleasure to recognize GulfStar and bestow upon them our highest honor for cross-border M&A firms and professionals,” said David Fergusson, Co-CEO and President, The M&A Advisor. “GulfStar represents the best of the cross-border M&A industry in 2015 and earned these honors by standing out in a group of very impressive candidates.”

The winners were announced at the 2016 International M&A Advisor Awards Gala at The New York Athletic Club on April 12, 2016. The M&A Advisor presented the 2016 awards at a black tie Awards Gala, held in conjunction with the 2016 International Financial Forum that featured over 300 of the industry’s leading cross-border M&A professionals participating in exclusive interactive forums led by over 50 M&A, media, academic, and stalwarts. For a complete list of the winners please click here.

About M&A Advisor
Since 1998, The M&A Advisor has been presenting, recognizing the achievement of and facilitating connections between the world’s leading mergers and acquisitions, financing and turnaround professionals with a comprehensive range of services including M&A SUMMITS; M&A AWARDS; M&A CONNECTS™; M&A LINKS™ MandA.TV and M&A MARKET INTEL™. Visit www.maadvisor.com to learn more.

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 or enterprise values generally ranging from $25 million to $350 million. Since its formation in 1990, GulfStar has completed more than 630 transactions in 32 states and 14 foreign countries across a variety of industries.