Current
Engagements

Centrally located in Texas, LONESTAR presents a compelling opportunity for strategic acquirers looking to add highly qualified surveyors and engineers while expanding market share and customer diversification. One of the shareholders seeks to transition out in the near-term, while the others want to align with a larger firm that can support continued growth and professional development.

This highly profitable business (25%+ EBITDA margins) offers a diverse set of professional services to both public and private clientele and enjoys strong customer retention. LONESTAR is very strong in their survey capabilities and provide premium customer service compared to their competition. While diversified, they excel in energy and public infrastructure markets which, combined, account for 50% of their total revenue on an annual basis.

LONESTAR possesses a high caliber team consisting of ±35 employees. With a 40+ year track record and exceptional reputation in its local market, the Company enjoys a loyal customer base across municipal, infrastructure, energy and commercial development end markets. The Company is tracking $5.6M+ revenues w/ 25%+ EBITDA margins in 2021. Revenue breakdown consists of approximately 75% surveying, 25% engineering. Civil engineering capabilities were added five years ago, presenting a significant growth opportunity with the increasing infrastructure budgets across the state of Texas.

Company currently leases two facilities at fair market rents and expects these leases to convey with the sale.

There is significant growth opportunity to expand these services with key hires of additional PE’s. Today, there is more demand to keep up in Texas due to the investments in infrastructure. Additionally, the Company continues to diversify into newer end markets which present growth opportunities, i.e., Renewable Energy.

Surveying/engineering is a very fragmented industry, especially in the state of Texas. While there are many competitors in their geographic area, the Company benefits from strong relationships with repeat customers. Additionally, the Company’s solid reputation in Texas ultimately wins them many projects with exceptional clients.

Rarely does a diverse, commercially-performing IP portfolio developed by a stable of PhD’s and engineers come to market. RocketIP enjoys robust interest in its products and IP from a diverse customer base - 40% commercial, 60% government agency. Its IP and applications solve expensive problems across multiple industries including aerospace, defense, space and others. The Company is a leader in the latest A&D applications including hypersonics, green monopropellant and cube-sat technologies. This is the real deal.

The founder developed products for the space shuttle before starting his own business. The Company is a known incubator of relevant, state-of-the-art intellectual property that solves expensive problems. The Company has a year backlog of work with current customers. This is with no full-time dedicated sales, marketing or biz development personnel. The CEO believes their IP is patentable for hundreds of applications. Customers are global. You’ll find the Company’s IP and products on or in space missions, jet engines, cutting edge armaments, commercial rockets, satellites, industrial manufacturing facilities, and other industrial products. The Company’s IP makes other people’s products faster, stronger, cheaper, more durable and more technologically advanced, especially in harsh environments. Customers include Fortune 500 companies, aerospace and defense contractors, and government agencies including NASA, DoD, DoE.

The founder and operating management team expect to stay long-term with the company. A talented group of engineers and PhD’s convey with the sale. Most professionals have non-competes and employment agreements in place. The right buyer will value diverse R&D talent and have systems in place for protecting, filing, monetizing and commercializing strong IP.

The shareholders seek a full sale to a strategic buyer in the aerospace and defense sectors.

Today the Company leases 40k+ s.f. with room for expansion (owned by a related 3rd party entity). The owner believes the buyer will want to control the real estate given the proprietary nature of the production capability.

The reason for the sale is to find a large strategic or financial buyer who will continue the Company’s commercialization of its IP. Large aerospace and industrial manufacturers or manufacturing service companies would greatly benefit from this IP. The next owner should leverage the technologies in their own products, as well as, sell or license the IP to others. Growth rates will depend on the buyer and their appetite to fund growth.

The niche areas of materials science enjoyed by the company are highly fragmented and specialized. RocketIP plays in the high margin specialty materials science and coatings space. For some products and IP, there is no competition. For other IP, there are niche players like RocketIP.

Qualified buyers will love to buy this 66% gross margin branded OEM fluid control products manufacturer. The owner is at retirement age and seeks a strong strategic buyer with excellent sales, marketing and distribution that would benefit from Hydra’s strong brand, recurring customers and distribution and rep channels. The Company’s consistent revenues and strong margins will tick upward in 2021 as a result of added sales resources. The Company is budgeting $6.4M in revs for 2021 with $2.55M EBITDA. Through April, the company is slightly ahead of this budget.

There are strong key managers within the company in sales, marketing and operations. The owner will support a 1-2 year transition, however ideal buyers will know the industry and not need significant period of seller support.

The company leases facilities from an independent third-party landlord. Should a strategic buyer want to relocate the operation into their existing footprint, they should allocate about 12,000 s.f. for Hydra’s operation.

In Hydra’s tenure, it has consistently grown slowly over the years with 2021 benefitting from added sales resources in 2020 that are paying off today.

The Company has some competitors globally. It boasts high margins and competitive pricing. Today, the Company believes the annual market for its products are between $100M and $150M annually. With a strategic buyer with strong sales and marketing resources, it believes it can dramatically increase its market share above 15%.