If selling, recapitalizing, or bringing in a partner is even a possibility over the next few years, this page gives you the useful context first: who we are, how we work, where we fit, and what a first conversation with David actually looks like.
“You don't need pressure. You need answers. You need information.”
Historical figures reported across the firm's engagements. No sale, price, timing, or outcome is guaranteed.
Enginuity is a transaction advisory firm, not a production-line brokerage. Before a company goes to market, we learn it, value it, prepare it, and build the process around the owner's objectives.
We start with the history, leadership, financial picture, industry position, and what you actually want from a transition — whether that means stepping away, staying on, or bringing in a partner for the next phase.
Financial, operational, legal, management, reporting, and diligence issues are addressed before the market process begins. The objective is to reduce surprises and present the company accurately and intelligently.
Rather than simply posting a listing, we research and approach strategic and financial buyers that fit the company's sector, size, structure, and the owner's objectives.
We coordinate the buyer process, structure, negotiation, diligence, tax and legal collaboration, closing, and — when useful — the early post-closing transition.
“We don't have analysts. We don't have associates. We just have seasoned principals.”
For owners who want liquidity but still see another chapter ahead, Enginuity is known for structuring transactions that can combine cash at closing with continued ownership and participation in future growth.
Convert a meaningful portion of the company's value into liquidity rather than waiting for a full retirement or complete exit.
In the right transaction, an owner may roll part of the value into the new entity and continue operating alongside a strategic or financial partner.
If the business grows and the new entity is recapitalized or sold later, retained equity may create a second liquidity event.
Rollover equity and future recapitalization value are transaction-specific and are never guaranteed.
We are a small boutique practice and deliberately selective about the engagements we take on.
If the fit is not there, we would rather tell you directly than manufacture a reason to move forward.
Two examples where the seller received liquidity, stayed involved in the business, and retained meaningful equity in the new entity.
Three shareholders completed the transaction and retained 49% of the new entity, staying on to run and grow the business with institutional backing and potential participation in a later recapitalization.
A single owner completed the transaction and retained 42% of the new entity, continuing to lead the operation with a financial partner supporting the next phase of growth.
Details are simplified to protect confidentiality. Past transactions do not guarantee any future valuation, structure, or outcome.
The questions owners usually want answered before they are comfortable having a serious M&A conversation.
Confidentiality is foundational to the process. Enginuity uses confidentiality agreements with clients, prospective buyers, and around transaction materials as is standard in serious M&A work.
Employees, clients, and competitors generally do not need to know that you are exploring your options. If a sensitive situation does arise, we help you think through how to handle it. David's view after more than 40 years of deal-making is simple: confidentiality has to be managed deliberately from the beginning.
No. Selling or recapitalizing a company is a process, not an event. A useful first step is simply understanding the choices available to you so that any eventual decision rests on facts rather than rumor or assumptions.
In many cases, talking earlier gives an owner more time to improve the company, build leadership depth, address weaknesses, and decide what type of transaction would actually fit their goals.
The honest answer depends on the business: earnings quality, margins, growth, backlog, leadership depth, client concentration, sector, buyer appetite, and how the transaction is structured.
The first call stays high-level. If it makes sense to go further, Enginuity can review the financial information needed to develop an Opinion of Market Value and discuss how likely buyers may look at the company.
A conversation, not a pitch. You'll speak directly with David Kimbrell. The first call is intentionally high-level: your company, its history, what you are thinking about, and what you want the next several years of your life and business to look like.
There is no heavy financial interrogation and no pressure to move forward. The goal is to answer your questions, understand the situation, and decide candidly whether another conversation would be useful.
Enginuity is intentionally small. The firm is led by seasoned principals rather than handing the engagement down to analysts or associates, and each process is built around the company rather than a standardized listing model.
Just as importantly, the principals came from building and buying businesses in the built environment themselves. That experience shapes the pre-market preparation, buyer selection, transaction structure, and negotiations.
It varies by company and transaction, but a full process often runs roughly six to twelve months. Preparation and valuation come first, followed by buyer research and outreach, indications of interest, negotiation and structuring, a letter of intent, diligence, closing, and transition support.
The process is not perfectly linear. Many workstreams run in parallel, and the exact sequence depends on the company, the buyers, and the structure being pursued.
Enginuity's compensation is based primarily on a commission tied to the purchase price, using a Lehman-style scale. The vast majority of the fee is paid at closing.
That structure is intended to keep incentives aligned: the objective is not simply to complete a transaction, but to negotiate the strongest practical combination of price, structure, tax treatment, and fit for the owner.
That is encouraged. A transition decision affects more than one person, and it should be discussed with the people who matter. Enginuity can send white papers, process materials, or include other stakeholders in a follow-up conversation when useful.
Research. We study companies in the built-environment sector by specialty, geography, size, and other public business information, and reach out where we believe a conversation could reasonably be relevant.
Speak directly with David. No pitch, no obligation, and no assumption that you are ready to sell — just a candid conversation about your company, your goals, and what your options may look like.
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Your inquiry and conversation will be treated confidentially.