By Ross Norton
Contributing Writer

The principals of The Capital Corp. are relaxed and helpful as a photographer turns their lobby upside down.

They talk casually as a large rug is spun around, a heavy sofa moved aside, a pair of tables pushed out of the way. They pose for a picture with their easy-talking president and CEO, C. Dan Adams, in the middle.

When the photographer is finished, the men restore the room themselves. They do it smoothly, without discussing or deciding who grabs the rug and who moves the sofa. Together, the company principals and their president work efficiently until the task is done.

That simple act of putting a room in its proper order is an appropriate metaphor for how this executive team works at
The Capital Corp. in Greenville, where the president and his key players do the heavy lifting themselves.

The Capital Corp. is an investment banking firm that has expanded its services in recent years to include private equity, or merchant, banking. Headquartered in Greenville, the company has S.C. offices in Spartanburg and Rock Hill, as well as a location in Winston-Salem, N.C. A sampling of companies in which they have invested includes Steeger USA, Rowey Co., Integrity Funding, AccessOne Consumer Health, General Wholesale Distributors and Westwood Insurance.

Adams speaks with obvious pride in The Capital Corp. team and of how each member brings a unique expertise and history to the art of the deal.

“We’ve recruited and developed and matured to where we have a high level of confidence and expertise within a group of people so that we can serve a market segment with what we do,” Adams says.

And what they do is make deals.

The company found its niche in the middle market, where they focus on companies with annual revenues from $10 million to $150 million. Since it was founded in 1991, The Capital Corp. has closed $4 billion in transactions, Adams said.

As investment bankers to the mid-market, they help business owners in mergers and acquisitions. With its expertise in sell-side and divestiture transactions, the company develops exit strategies for those looking to turn over a business, or a portion of a business, to new ownership. With its growing buy-side/acquisitions area, The Capital Corp. seeks out companies for its clients to purchase. Additionally, their services include debt and equity financing, valuation and consulting.

The deals and strategies can be complicated, taking months, sometimes even years, to complete. In that time, Adams says, the principals often develop a close relationship with their clients.

“In the mid-market, we bring a personal touch to a transaction,” Adams says. “It’s not just a transaction to us because we understand that it’s a huge event to the owner of a company. For most, their company is their largest asset, so a transaction — a sell, for example — is a large event in their lives.”

That boutique attention to the client’s needs has put The Capital Corp. on a map much larger than the one of Greenville.
By assembling a team with diverse expertise and ushering some key deals through to a successful ending, The Capital Corp. opened its stage beyond South Carolina’s Upstate. They make deals work across the state, up and down the Eastern seaboard and across the country. Their influence and relationships stretch from Argentina to Germany, from Israel to Japan.

According to Principal Alan D. Austin, who works in the mergers and acquisitions and financing divisions, it doesn’t matter to The Capital Corp.’s clients that the company is located outside traditional banking and finance centers like New York and Charlotte, N.C.

“People that are putting together an exit strategy are looking for talented people,” Austin says. “They understand that it’s not as important where we’re located as where they’re located.”

In fact, another principal, E.L. Mont, has lived and worked in California, Chicago, New York, even Brazil. When he worked for JP Morgan in New York, many of the deals he made took place outside the city.

“Most of my clients are located in California and New York and the Midwest, so for me it’s as easy to access them from here as somewhere else,” Mont says. “Even when I was with JP Morgan in New York, we were based there, but our clients were all over the place, so it’s really not that different. Except when I walk out the door I can get home in 15 minutes.”

According to Reginald Greiner, a principal who joined the company with 10 years of experience in private equity and corporate finance, The Capital Corp. evolved by developing a core concentration in the Upstate before moving toward nationwide influence.

“Our clients are throughout the country now and a lot of folks recognize that,” he says. “It raises our pedigree in South Carolina as well by bringing in out-of-state investors.”

Greiner shepherded a deal for General Wholesale Distributors, an HVAC distributor based in Greenville. The Capital Corp. identified General Wholesale as a great acquisition and completed the deal. Greiner believes the transaction “put us on the map. A lot of institutional investors outside of Greenville started to take notice as we closed that transaction. It really raised the bar.”

While that deal brought out-of-state investors to South Carolina, Austin rode point on another that saw a smaller South Carolina company purchase a larger but similar company from West Virginia.

Industrial Service Group, operating under the trade name Blastco Thermal Coatings, bought Universal Inc. The Capital Corp. helped Blastco find and identify the company, a challenge heightened because of Universal’s larger size. Austin led them through the transaction.

“That was completed last year. They’re doing great, which always makes us feel good when we can help them grow strategically like that and they continue to perform well,” Austin says. “It was a great example of our buy-side work.”

While Adams infused the company with youth by recruiting from Wall Street, Principal George Moseley is quick to point out that even the newest guys are veterans. Their experience ranges across the finance and banking spectrum.

“In our 12 principals we have a wealth of experience from a variety of disciplines. These guys are very talented and have a unique experience,” he says.

Looking to the future, Adams and the principals of The Capital Corp. see steady growth in a market where they consider themselves among the best.

“We’re a growing company and we’re looking to grow the company further,” Adams says. “We’re looking for opportunities to invest from our merchant banking side. In years to come, we think South Carolina will continue to be a great place to live and work and we’re looking for opportunities to assist owners in the middle market.”