Dale Johnston

Company Overview

Ascend Business Services is a boutique consultancy firm concentrating in assisting small to mid-size companies in a variety of unique areas, including managing through financial distress, improving internal cash management and selling businesses. Through decades of experience, the professionals at Ascend achieves, for their clients, superior results in very specialized situations. Most Lawyers, Bankers, and even CPA's have extreme knowledge and expertise, however, this expertise is different than most small business require when struggling, needing working capital, or when selling their business. While we have general knowledge of all things business, we try to stick to what we know best: Turning around businesses Finding working capital for businesses Selling or acquiring businesses

Services Offered

While there are several types of transactions classified under the notion of M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions), a merger means a combination of two companies to form a new company, while an acquisition is the purchase of one company by another in which no new company is formed. M&A can include a number of different transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, tender offers, purchase of assets and management acquisitions. In all cases, two companies are involved, where an acquiring company makes an offer to buy the other company in its entirety or purchase some of its assets. Ascend Business Services focuses solely on privately held business, however, our ventures have led us into the public realm. Merger In a merger, the boards of directors for two companies approve the combination and seek shareholders' approval. After the merger, the acquired company ceases to exist and becomes part of the acquiring company. Acquisition In an acquisition, the acquiring company obtains the majority stake in the acquired firms, which does not change its name or legal structure. Consolidation A consolidation creates a new company. Stockholders of both companies must approve the consolidation, and subsequent to the approval, they receive common equity shares in the new firm. Tender Offer In a tender offer, one company offers to purchase the outstanding stock of the other firm at a specific price. The acquiring company communicates the offer directly to the other company's shareholders, bypassing the management and board of directors. While the acquiring company may continue to exist, if there are certain dissenting shareholders, most tender offers result in mergers. Acquisition of Assets In a purchase of assets, one company acquires the assets of another company. The company whose assets are being acquired must obtain approval from its shareholders. Typically, the selling company is liquidated upon the final transfer of assets to the acquiring firm. The purchase of assets is typical during bankruptcy proceedings, where other companies bid for various assets of the bankrupt company, which later ceases to exist. Management Acquisition In a management acquisition, the management of a company purchases a controlling stake in a company, making it private. Such an M&A transaction is typically financed disproportionately with debt, and the majority of shareholders must approve it.

Broker Profile

Yes, we know, which firm doesn't possess the experience needed. The difference with Ascend is we have lived your life. All of us are either current business owners or former business owners. This difference enables us to understand your point of view and to construct solutions you which meet your objectives and not the objectives of a professional. In addition, looking and working on over 10,000 different businesses over our careers gives us insights that others simply do not possess. In fact, our focus on these broad numbers enables our solutions to be tested in many different forums, improved, and tested again, over and over, until we reached the result driven processes and changes we deliver today.

Areas Served

United States Nationwide