rocket domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/leftri6/public_html/wpexplore/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131megamenu-pro domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/leftri6/public_html/wpexplore/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131acf domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/leftri6/public_html/wpexplore/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131The private equity industry continues to push through the ambiguity surrounding ESG criteria to navigate risks and discover opportunities to increase investment returns. While many traditional PE houses are taking the “wait and see” approach, those that are proactive about integrating ESG considerations into their due diligence and investment cycles are being rewarded.
Regardless of the approach, the confluence of risk mitigation, opportunities for growth, expected regulation, and customer demand make it clear that ESG will be playing a critical role in short- and long-term value creation.
Private and public companies alike have been taking stock of their ESG risks and ramping up their ESG strategies for some time. What was once considered a “nice to have” has become table stakes for companies of all shapes and sizes looking to meet shifting stakeholder demands. Therefore, the most progressive private equity firms have incorporated ESG considerations (i.e., risks and opportunities) throughout all aspects of the investment lifecycle (i.e., due diligence, investment, exit). As “The Expanding Case for ESG in Private Equity” report from Bain & Company highlights:
“Firms recognize that consumers, regulators, employees, and sources of capital are energized by the notion that investors can and should use their economic clout to address the many existential crises we face as a society. Each of these groups is ramping up demands for change and, in many cases, rewarding it.”
While it’s clear that stakeholder demand is embedding ESG criteria into the investment lifecycle, there is still uncertainty surrounding how to measure and monitor ESG risk exposure and opportunities for growth.
A company’s ability to “tell its ESG story” has become synonymous with measuring ESG program maturity. Furthermore, the ability to take traditional business models and drive them towards sustainability-focused principles has been seen to unlock new business opportunities and create long-term value (i.e., loyalty) from consumers. This is especially true for the youngest consumers entering the period of their lives where they will have the most spending power.
To measure risk and develop new opportunities, PE firms are driving portfolio companies to:
To accomplish this, an organization should adopt a structured approach that follows the most common frameworks and standards. Specifically, companies can increase the quality of their ESG program by adopting the most common standards and frameworks (e.g., Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) or Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)).
With a structured approach and quality reporting mechanisms, PE firms can continue to integrate ESG elements into portfolio companies throughout the investment lifecycle. By adhering to the most common standards, portfolio companies will be well positioned to comply with expected global regulatory changes.
Whether you’re an acquisition target company or an established private equity house, a clear ESG strategy is needed to address shifting stakeholder demands. PE firms that have embraced the development of ESG strategies for themselves as well as their portfolio companies are poised to benefit from the changes on the horizon being driven by both stakeholders, customers, and regulation.
ESG’s value proposition may be clear, but a few questions remain as firms embrace ESG principles and build out their programs:
If you are interested in learning more, schedule a conversation with our ESG team today.
]]>SPACs are an increasingly popular alternative to traditional IPOs. For many they serve as an accelerated strategy to raise capital. However, they are not without their own unique risks & challenges.
Surging to a record $170 billion this year, SPACs have been called Wall Street’s biggest gold rush in recent years. However, the flood of new activity has triggered additional skepticism among investors and increased scrutiny by the SEC. More than ever, success in the SPACs market hinges on experience and expertise navigating the unique market challenges and regulatory complexities of the SPAC life-cycle:
Private equity companies that were planning an IPO or other significant M&A deal before the COVID-19 pandemic will want to weigh the real-world advantages and disadvantages of a SPACs option. As with all transactions significant, intensive planning, vetting, due diligence and other considerations must be undertaken.
MGO’s Private Equity practice has experience with IPOs, RTOs, M&A deals and the unique characteristics of SPAC acquisitions. To understand your options, and the path ahead, please feel free to reach out to us for a consultation.
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QOF investors with a deadline to invest their qualified capital gains in a qualified opportunity fund (“QOF”) between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020, now have until December 31, 2020 to invest those gains. This relief is applied automatically.
A QOF must hold 90% of assets in a qualified opportunity zone property. This 90% standard is tested twice throughout the year, typically June 30th and December 31th. Those that fail the test are assessed a penalty if they cannot show “reasonable cause” for the failure.
The new IRS guidance removes penalties for QOFs that fail the 90% testing between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. This failure will also be disregarded when the IRS determines whether a QOF meets the opportunity zone requirements for future tax years.
One of the key requirements that a qualified opportunity zone business property must meet is that substantial improvements, exceeding the original cost of the property, must be made within a 30-month period following the date of acquisition.
The new IRS guidance disregards the nine month period of April 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 in determining the 30-month substantial improvement period.
For an entity to qualify as be a Qualified Opportunity Zone Business (QOZB), no more than 5% of its assets can consist of Nonqualified Financial Property (NFP). One exception allows for a working capital safe harbor, where cash can be held in conjunction with a plan for expending that capital within a 31 month timeframe.
A QOZB in a Federally-declared disaster zone may extend this timeframe by up to 24 months. On March 31, 2020, President Trump issued an emergency declaration for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories. This effectively extended the working capital safe harbor timeline by 24 months.
When a QOF sells or disposes of QOZ property, if the QOF reinvests the proceeds into a QOZ property within a 12 month period following the sale, the proceeds are calculated as QOZ property for purposes of the 90% investment standard.
Under the IRS guidance, if January 20, 2020 falls within a QOF’s 12 month reinvestment period, that QOF is allowed up to an additional 12 months to reinvest in QOZ property.
The deadline extensions and other forms of relief provided by IRS Notice 2020-39 provide much-needed relief for investors whose QOZ purchases and improvement plans were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For guidance on how these rules will impact your investments, please contact us for a consultation.
]]>Meanwhile, the steady march toward legalization has fueled remarkable growth in the cannabis sector over the last several years. While the outlook on cannabis remains bullish, many wonder how this emerging sector will respond to a major economic downturn.
Will the steady stream of retail capital, venture capital and private equity funds spurring cannabis industry growth dry up and bring expansion to a shuddering halt? Or will the cannabis industry – and individual cannabis private and public companies – demonstrate the historical counter-cyclical behavior we’ve come to expect from ”vice” industries, such as alcohol and tobacco?
The experts can argue about the severity and the timing, but – on the heels of an extraordinary 10-plus years of economic growth and stability – most agree that it is at least wise to prepare for a significant slowdown. Portfolio adjustments are probably in order, as prepared investors will start considering bonds, dividends, stability and commingled accounts.
It is also time to start thinking about defensive stocks – and add cannabis and cannabis-related equities to those considerations. If you have an option to invest through private markets, those opportunities may hold a key to more value, albeit with slightly less transparency to the public market.
Clearly, the cannabis industry has never encountered a recession and as such, we can’t revisit history and cite earlier performance, milestones to watch or other informative data.
We can, however, note that the industry would enter a recession with what arguably appears to be very strong fundamentals. According to one report:
Additionally, the industry got an important kicker in 2018, when passage of the U.S. Farm Bill made hemp legal nationwide.
It can also be insightful to go back and review the performance of comparable industries, in this case we will examine “vice” industries, specifically alcohol and tobacco. All have track records that provide at least some degree of visibility of what we might expect from cannabis.
The alcohol/tobacco example that followed the recent Great Recession is particularly informative. Consider (information compiled by financial information company Sageworks):
Takeaway: Consumers cut back on a great number of things when the economy turned, but drinking was not one of them.
Are there lessons to be learned by the performances of some of the individual stocks during and immediately following the Great Recession?
Yes and no.
Anheuser-Busch Inbev (NYSE: BUD) delivered a 39.4% return in 2008, which was nearly 80% better than the S&P 500. Revenue, however, climbed just 5%. The strong performance was not based on financial performance but, rather Anheuser-Busch’s acquisition by Inbev.
Lesson: Undervalued companies with market share will get noticed.
Shares of Altria (NYSE:MO) the parent company of Marlboro among other brands, gained 28% between December 2007 and December 2010. In the middle of that period (2009), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) put out a paper stating that smokers actually increased their cigarette intake during a period of economic difficulty.
Lesson: Price increases can offset weak sales. Brand power has value. Dividends are important in downturns.
Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP) is an interesting example, as the company’s “average-Joe” brand was overwhelmed by craft beers in the Great Recession. Example: the share price of The Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE:SAM) advanced 80%. The issue has since been rectified, with numerous acquisitions, including Blue Moon, Leinenkugel, Hop Valley and Revolver. (Sidebar: Molson Coors, like Constellation (NYSE:STZ) before it with its acquisition of Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC), also has a deal with cannabis company Hexo (NYSE:HEXO) to develop non-alcoholic cannabis-infused drinks in Canada.
Lesson: Consumers seek out “stress relievers” during stressful times. People with a little extra disposable income will consume products at the higher end of the pecking order.
Diageo (NYSE:DEO) is a global juggernaut, with a huge portfolio of brands, including Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Ketel One, and Guinness beer. The company continued to be highly profitable during the Great Recession, dropped a bit the next year and then more than recovered in 2011. Their dividend payout ratio is just over 50%.
Lesson: Brand power stays strong during a downturn.
There are a number of intangible differences across the cannabis industry that also need to be considered in any analysis:
Finally, there are some market watchers who believe the bull case for cannabis in a recession has almost nothing to do with the burgeoning industry being counter-cyclical, recession-proof or recession-resistant. Instead, they assert, the strong performance will be driven by economics, politics, balancing budgets and generating tax revenues.
Scenario: The prohibition remains at the federal level once the next recession hits. The economic downturn acts as a major catalyst for cannabis legalization at the state and federal levels in the U.S. and abroad. Legislatures will feel pressured to take action – and no jurisdiction will want to be left at the starting line as the others race toward to finish line, creating a possible “domino-effect” scenario.
“Recession-proof” is language that doesn’t belong in investment analysis. However, there is ample reason – based upon fundamentals, the track record of similar sectors and other investment considerations – to conclude that selective cannabis companies and public company stocks could, in fact, be “counter-cyclical” or “recession-resistant.” Accordingly, they should be seriously evaluated as investors consider adjusting their portfolio for a possible economic slowdown.
]]>The MGO | ELLO Cannabis Investment Review is the first publication of its kind for the cannabis industry. Developed in cooperation with PitchBook, the premier data provider for the private and public equity markets, the report offers a wide range of marketplace insights to an industry that is increasingly hungry for data.
The Review examines this generation’s most dynamic industry from a private market perspective, investigating venture capital and private equity trends, and the consolidating M&A deals reshaping the cannabis landscape.
The report finds that venture capital investment in cannabis has soared to new heights, far surpassing last year’s impressive rally, despite federal restrictions on banking and financing. Plus, investment in cannabis reached nearly $1.3 billion before the first half of 2019, exceeding last year’s tally of nearly $1 billion for all of 2018. The report goes on to examine a number key factors influencing cannabis industry growth, including: