George Spilka & Associates

George Spilka established George Spilka and Associates (GS&A) in 1978. GS&A is an investment banking and acquisition advisory firm specializing in middle-market, privately-held companies. We have grown from a small acquisition advisory firm serving companies in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York to become a major national player in middle market acquisitions having advised clients headquartered in over 40 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, Canada and Puerto Rico.

George Spilka has introduced a number of unique concepts and processes to the middle market, including:

In 1990, GS&A introduced the concept of Exit Strategy Planning, which helps define an owner's personal and financial objectives and determines the exit strategy that best satisfies those objectives. If selling the company is determined to be an owner's best alternative, GS&A reviews the company's business foundation and recommends appropriate changes to strengthen it. This enables the seller to obtain the maximum sale price.

During the early-1990's, GS&A began to control the total negotiating process in a unique way. Contrary to most investment banking firms, which turn over a deal to the attorneys at the Letter of Intent stage for completion, GS&A controls all negotiations from inception through the closing utilizing the attorneys as a key element of the negotiating team. This degree of control has enabled GS&A to develop a level of protection for clients in the representations, warranties and indemnifications that is unmatched in the industry. No client of George Spilka and Associates has ever sustained a post-closing loss.

During 2000, George Spilka saw the need for many selling owners to have an investment banking firm that could provide a comprehensive process to position their companies to obtain the maximum sale price. Consequently, GS&A introduced its Sale Price Maximization Planning process to the middle market in 2001. This process helps an owner develop a well-conceived, long-term growth and expansion strategy in conjunction with GS&A. It also facilitates the identification of operational changes that should be implemented. The end result is a significant increase in the bottom line, a strengthening of the company's business foundation and a substantial increase in the selling price.

Due to innovations and unique services like these, George Spilka has consistently been the industry leader in defining and providing the services that assure selling owners a maximum premium price with the minimal post-closing exposure.

George Spilka is a nationally syndicated author on acquisitions and valuations. His articles on acquisition-related topics have appeared in over 100 business and trade publications. (See the "Published Articles" Section of this website for a sample of these articles.) He has conducted many seminars and speaking engagements on subjects related to corporate acquisitions and sale price maximization planning. These have included seminars sponsored by UBS and the Capital Roundtable, which is one of the most respected names in investment banking seminars and workshops for middle market companies, amongst others.

Prior to starting GS&A in 1978, George Spilka was Executive Vice-President of a regional wholesaler and retailer of pharmaceuticals, health and beauty aids and natural health foods. He also served as Director of Profit Planning and Budgeting and led the Corporate Development Department of the Bimetallics Division of Copperweld Corporation, a then Fortune 500 company. Prior to that, he was responsible for the SEC work and the Tax Department of Mesta Machine, a NYSE company. George Spilka is a CPA who held auditing positions with KPMG, an international CPA and consulting firm, after graduating from Duquesne University with a B.S. of Business Administration. He has been involved with many community development organizations.