Diligently Striving for Great Outcomes

We enjoy working with business owners to unlock their value creation.

Diligently Striving for Great Outcomes

We enjoy working with business owners to unlock their value creation.

Helping Business Owners Get To Where The Want To Go 

Cherry Tree, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded in 1980 as a private equity/venture capital firm. After successfully managing four investment funds during the 1980s and 1990s, the firm expanded into investment banking in 1996, which has become its primary business line. The firm specializes in serving business owners, financial sponsors, and large corporations in their M&A transactions. Our leadership team collectively has served on over 80 boards of directors and has completed hundreds of M&A and financing transactions. Their backgrounds cover a broad range of experiences including M&A advisory, operating roles as former CEOs and CFOs, and leadership positions on boards of directors.

Community Involvement

The heart of any great business is its people and culture. At Cherry Tree, we feel it’s important to “pay it forward” and live our values by making a difference in the community where we work and live. We are proud to support our employee’s dedication and commitment to building stronger communities-and a better world- as they engage with the causes they care about.

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Why Choose Us

Our Philosophy

We are driven by the desire to “help business owners get where they want to go.” This means listening to their stated objectives, understanding their companies and then providing input on timing and likely outcomes. We are ready to assist owners in reviewing the important non-cash components of a transaction and previewing potential buyers. In our transactions we work to maximize valuation while paying close attention to satisfying key employees and important customers, and ensuring a good cultural fit.

Our Approach

We have a “Client-Centric” approach to developing successful transactions for business owners. If our clients do well, then we will too. We develop great outcomes by doing the following: (1) understanding our client’s business and transaction goals; (2) running a discipline M&A process; and (3) developing a competitive bidding scenario to ensure a closing that optimizes valuation and other important deal terms.

Industry Focus

Cherry Tree believes that Industry Focus is a key driver to successfully serving business owners. It allows us to quickly understand a client’s business, strategically position the company, create comprehensive buyer’s lists, and provide real-time, insightful input on valuations. Our Managing Directors have broad experience in the following four sectors: Education, Technology, Industrial, and Consumer.

Managing Director Expertise

Our Managing Directors have significant experience as M&A advisors, former CEOs and CFOs, and board members. Collectively, our leadership team has worked on hundreds of transactions over more than four decades. We are committed to Senior-level attention on all engagements, which ensures our clients always have an experienced advisor leading their transaction.

Jim Horn

Chairman and CEO, Packaging Incorporated

 

“The Cherry Tree team ran a really disciplined and professional process, creating a competitive situation that resulted in several strong options for our Board to consider. We were able to partner with a great buyer who is an excellent strategic fit with our company. The Cherry Tree team was always professional, available and fully engaged during the process, and they continually energized and supported our internal team to develop an exceptional end result for our shareholders, employees and customers.”
Mike Stilwell

Owner, Patriot Converting, Inc.

 

“The Cherry Tree team provided the advice and counsel we needed both before and during the sale process. They were involved every step of the way and were instrumental in us being prepared for the demands which come with selling your company. Their leadership and disciplined approach resulted in a great outcome for our family, employees and customers.”

Cherry Tree & Associates provides investment banking services through our FINRA-licensed broker dealer.

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