Exit Strategies Group, Inc. is a California-based M&A advisory and business valuation firm that has been operating since 2002.
Founded by Al Statz, the company works with owners of family-owned and closely-held businesses who are planning to sell, seeking an independent valuation, or trying to figure out what their exit options actually look like.
Their client focus sits squarely in the lower middle market: companies with revenues between $5 million and $100 million.
With offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Portland, Oregon, they serve clients across the Western U.S. and nationally in a wide range of industries.
Key Takeaways
- Exit Strategies Group has specialized in M&A advisory and business valuation for family-owned and closely-held companies since 2002.
- The firm handles the full transaction process from initial business assessment through closing, keeping the owner informed and involved at each stage.
- Their team carries recognized professional credentials including ASA, CVA, CBI, and M&AMI designations across multiple advisors.
What Exit Strategies Group Does
The firm operates across three main service areas: selling businesses, valuing businesses, and exit planning.
Each service can function independently, though for many clients they overlap.
An owner might start with a valuation, realize they're not ready to sell, move into exit planning, and come back a few years later to run a sale.
Sell-Side M&A Advisory
This is the core of what they do. Exit Strategies represents sellers through a structured sale process that runs from initial consultation through closing.
Their approach breaks into two main phases:
- Assessment: They analyze financials, normalize earnings, assess working capital, identify value drivers and detractors, forecast performance, and determine a probable selling price range before going to market. This phase also flags any sale-readiness issues that could become obstacles later.
- Sale Process: They build a target buyer list using their proprietary database and external research, prepare a Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM), manage NDA execution, run a competitive bid process where appropriate, and then handle negotiations, due diligence coordination, and closing.
Senior advisors lead each engagement rather than handing it off to junior staff mid-process, which matters more than it might seem.
In M&A, continuity in the relationship directly affects trust with both buyer and seller, and gaps in that relationship can derail deals.
Business Valuation Services
Exit Strategies provides independent business appraisals for a wide range of purposes:
| Valuation Purpose | Common Users |
|---|---|
| Estate and gift tax | Attorneys, CPAs, trustees |
| Buy-sell agreements | Business partners, shareholders |
| SBA lending | Banks and lenders |
| Management buyouts | Management teams, boards |
| ESOPs | Plan administrators, legal counsel |
| Litigation support | Courts, attorneys |
| Exit planning | Business owners |
| Corporate dissolution | Attorneys, courts |
Their valuation team holds Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA), Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV), and Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) credentials.
These are not self-issued titles they require demonstrated experience, exams, and ongoing education through organizations like the American Society of Appraisers and the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts.
Exit Planning
For owners who aren't ready to sell yet, Exit Strategies offers exit planning consultation.
This involves evaluating the current state of the business, identifying what would need to change to meet the owner's financial goals, and mapping out options including a strategic sale, management buyout, ESOP, or family succession.
The firm has dedicated content and a defined process for manufacturers specifically, which reflects the concentration of manufacturing and distribution clients in their portfolio.
The Team
The advisory team at Exit Strategies Group has unusual depth for a firm of its size. Most members bring prior operating or ownership experience alongside their advisory credentials. A few examples:
- Al Statz (President, M&AMI, ASA) founded the firm in 2002 and works with companies in the $5M to $100M revenue range on sales, majority recapitalizations, and divestitures.
- Joe Orlando (VP of Valuation, ASA) leads the valuation practice with a particular concentration in the craft beverage industry.
- Louis Cionci (M&AMI, ABV) has managed over $250 million in transactions and previously worked at two investment banking firms before joining.
- Mark Harter (CVA, CEPA) has over 30 years in company sales, finance, and M&A, and has been a key executive in four early-stage ventures that generated over $500 million in combined exit value.
- Jim Leonhard (CVA) has more than 40 years of experience spanning founding, operating, buying, selling, and valuing businesses.
- Victor Vazquez (ASA, MRICS) has 30-plus years with Big Four firms including PwC and KPMG, and brings international M&A and capital markets experience.
This is a team where the credentials are backed by actual deal and operating history, not just coursework.
Industries They Serve
Exit Strategies has documented transaction and valuation experience across a broad set of industries. Their deepest concentration areas include:
- Manufacturing
- Distribution
- B2B Services
- Technology
- E-Commerce
- Healthcare
- Construction
- Food & Beverage
- Wineries and Craft Beverage
- Industrial Automation and Robotics
- Test & Inspection (TIC)
The craft beverage and industrial automation verticals have dedicated service pages, which suggests more than passing familiarity.
Their representative transactions page shows completed deals across these industries, providing some transparency into actual outcomes rather than just service descriptions.
How Their Process Protects Sellers
One element worth understanding is how Exit Strategies handles confidentiality.
When a business owner decides to sell, word getting out prematurely, to employees, customers, suppliers, or competitors, can do real damage.
The firm builds confidentiality procedures throughout the process: buyers sign NDAs before receiving detailed information, and the general structure is designed so that employees and customers typically don't learn of the sale until the announcement is ready.
For closely-held companies where the owner's relationships are often the business, this matters a great deal.
They also describe their competitive bid process as deliberate, aiming to create a situation where multiple qualified buyers are engaged simultaneously rather than negotiating with a single party.
A competitive process generally produces better terms for sellers, and their methodology reflects that orientation.
Affiliations and Professional Standards
Exit Strategies Group is a member of Cornerstone International Alliance, a global network of M&A advisory firms.
Membership in a professional network like Cornerstone gives the firm access to international buyer relationships and deal flow beyond what a purely regional firm could access independently.
Their advisors hold credentials from recognized professional organizations including the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), the International Business Brokers Association (IBBI), and others that require ongoing professional development and adherence to defined standards.
What to Consider
A few things are worth keeping in mind for any business owner evaluating Exit Strategies Group as an advisor:
- Their stated focus is companies with $5 million to $100 million in revenue. Owners below that threshold may find a better fit with a traditional business broker. Owners above it may need a larger investment bank.
- They are based in Northern California and Portland, which means their market expertise and buyer relationships skew toward the Western U.S., though they handle national engagements.
- The firm does not appear to take on every engagement that walks in the door. The initial assessment phase is partly designed to determine whether a sale is feasible and whether the timing makes sense, which should be seen as a feature rather than a limitation.
Conclusion
Exit Strategies Group is a well-credentialed M&A advisory and valuation firm with a clearly defined focus on family-owned and closely-held companies in the lower middle market.
Business owners in the $5M to $100M revenue range who are planning a sale, need an independent valuation, or want structured guidance on their exit options have a firm worth contacting seriously.