Strategies
          Every corporate transaction presents a unique set of challenges. Every business is different with distinct characteristics. Furthermore, initiatives to merge, sell, acquire or refinance are major decisions for business owners and management that are often critical to the long-term success of their business. These transactions are often complex with millions of dollars at risk. At Johan Hekelaar, we apply the following strategies to all transactions ensuring that you make the right decisions for your business and that you obtain maximum value for all executed corporate transactions.

Explore Alternatives
          We carefully listen to you so that we can thoroughly ascertain your needs and objectives. We present you with a wide variety of strategic options before pursuing any one strategy. We will evaluate alternatives for you including strategic partnerships, venture capital, debt financing, equity investment, acquisition, sale or merger.

Industry Expertise
          We focus on select industries and stay attuned to the latest trends and market conditions in those industries. Our constant interaction with buyers, sellers and capital sources in those industries gives us expert knowledge of key issues affecting your company's value including how and where to optimally realize that value.

Proactive, Progressive Approach
          Our role in locating the right buyer, acquisition target, investor, lender or other strategic partner is critical to maximizing the value of your business. We proactively maintain relationships with corporate buyers, investors and lenders as well as subscribing to a variety of databases. This allows us to execute a customized marketing strategy that presents your business to potential strategic partners while maintaining strict client confidentiality. Furthermore, we continuously update you with new potential strategic partners, ensuring you are satisfied that you have found the best strategic fit for your business.

Keys to Success

          At Johan Hekelaar, we believe that building long-term client relationships based on respect, integrity and trust are critical to our ability to guarantee your success. These relationships form the essence of our role as your trusted strategic advisor. This role gives clients a competitive advantage, enabling you to make timely decisions in a dynamic marketplace. As your strategic advisor we provide you with the following:

Vision, Insight and Experience
          Our principal has over 25 years of business and transaction experience at the senior executive level in major banks, investment firms and operating companies. In addition, our Firm fosters creativity and innovation in evaluating potential strategies. This gives us the ability to see beyond the horizon, identify critical relationships, detect hidden interdependencies between markets and anticipate opportunities for value creation. We apply these abilities to unlock value for our clients, helping you choose and execute the best strategies to grow your business and stay ahead of the competition.

Defined Deliverables
          At the outset of each engagement, we evaluate the level of potential success of a contemplated corporate transaction and perform initial research on new clients. This allows us to advise clients up-front as to the feasibility of a potential strategy before they invest significant time and resources. In addition, our Firm provides clients with monthly status reports that complement our constant verbal updates, keeping you abreast of our progress. This approach has enabled us become highly successful in executing corporate transactions for our clients.

Executive Principal

Frans J. Kok
          Prior to founding Johan Hekelaar, Inc, in 1994, Mr. Kok headed the corporate finance departments of First National Bank of Maryland (FNB) and Ferris Baker-Watts Inc. (FBW). FNB is a commercial bank with over $10 billion in assets. FBW is an investment bank based in Baltimore established in 1900. Mr. Kok has been involved in the execution of numerous private placements, mergers, acquisitions, privatizations and leveraged buy-outs. At FNB he was responsible for managing the bank's venture capital portfolio. In addition, at FBW Mr. Kok established Grotech Venture, a venture capital fund, and underwrote a dozen public offerings. Former employers include Harvard University (where he performed economic research for a Nobel prize winning economist), Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc., USEPA and Long Lake Energy Corporation (co-founder and CFO).

          Mr. Kok holds Masters Degrees in Business Administration from Harvard Graduate School of Business and Insead. He also holds an MA Economics degree from California State University and a BA Economics degree from Occidental College. He speaks fluent Spanish, German, French, Dutch and English. He is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who's Who in the World.