DALLAS, Tex. – Four Seasons Patio & Awning Company, aka USA Canvas Shoppe, a 40-year-old Dallas-based canvas and metal awning design, manufacturing and installation company, was acquired last week by Frank Brienzo & Associates, Inc. of Iowa with the assistance of Sigma Mergers & Acquisitions.
Prior to engaging Sigma to manage the sale of his business, Four Seasons president Gary Cozart had an industry buyer approach him interested in acquiring USA Canvas Shoppe. Cozart had already met with Sigma about the potential sale of his business, but at that time felt he could consummate the transaction on his own.
“I just assumed it wouldn’t be that difficult to put the deal together – he wanted to buy it and I wanted to sell it, so I thought it would be a snap,” Cozart said. “As we got into the details, however, I realized I was in way over my head – he was asking questions I didn’t know how to answer, he was requesting certain information I wasn’t comfortable giving him and I still had a company to run. I decided the best thing for me to do would be to let a professional handle it, so I went back to Sigma for help.”
Frank Brienzo, director of Frank Brienzo & Associates, Inc., began searching the country for a manufacturing operation that fit his specific needs in May of 2009. Within weeks of USA Canvas Shoppe hitting the market, Brienzo was in contact with Sigma. His nationwide search had been difficult up to that point, but Huntington’s unique marketing and presentation process was a welcomed change to what he had experienced with other listings.
“I had located about 10 suitable businesses by the time I began looking at USA Canvas Shoppe, and had actually made site visits to about half-a-dozen of those,” Brienzo said. “What really made this particular opportunity stand out was Sigma’s video presentation – I was able to hear Gary’s answers to the same questions I would have asked him directly, and I was able to take a virtual tour of the facility. So by the time I made the trip to Dallas, I already knew this was the company I wanted to acquire.”
The transaction was not without its unique challenges and hurdles, and both parties give Sigma and its agent, Jeremy Furtick, credit for understanding the process, overcoming obstacles and seeing them through to the end.
“There’s no question about it – this was a difficult process,” Cozart said. “But Jeremy was always there to iron out any wrinkles that needed tending to, and to keep Frank and I on the same set of tracks heading in the same direction. This sale would not have closed without his perseverance and guidance.”
“Even though Sigma represented the seller is this transaction, I always felt Jeremy had my interests in mind also,” Brienzo said. “He always made me feel that this transaction was more about the individuals involved in it, rather than just a generic business deal.”
USA Canvas Shoppe (www.usacanvas.com) was established in 1970 in Dallas and has spent the past 40 years providing superior quality metal and canvas awnings to both commercial and residential clients across the country.
Sigma Mergers & Acquisitions’ (www.sigmamergers.com) roots as a Dallas business brokerage and M&A firm date back to 1984. After the company was acquired in 2004, Sigma has grown into one of the country’s most successful firms of its kind. The proprietary Sigma DealMap™ process has changed the way businesses are sold in Texas and has established Sigma as one of the most productive business brokerage and M&A firms in the country year after year. Sigma has closed more than 500 business transactions since 2004, and on average those businesses have sold for 95% of their asking prices.
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