Bison Case study

  • Bison is a founder-led beverage distribution platform that had grown rapidly through investment in operational excellence and targeted acquisitions. A key shareholder — the family office’s son-in-law — held a significant equity stake and had personally financed much of the company’s expansion, acting as a hybrid investor-operator.

    As the company scaled, financing future growth became increasingly difficult. Existing credit lines were fully drawn, the shareholder had reached his personal risk limit, and the family office providing bridge capital preferred not to extend further exposure. Yet the company faced an inflection point: scale was within reach, but only through a transformative step.

  • Bison identified an opportunity to merge with a larger competitor, unlocking meaningful synergies, improved profitability, and a structurally stronger market position.

    However, executing the merger required:

    • A professional, arm’s-length process

    • Investor alignment between founder, shareholder, and family office

    • A pathway to reduce personal exposure while retaining upside

    • Diligence leadership the company lacked internally

    • A partner able to structure a new capital vehicle for the transaction

    This is when the shareholder asked Nima Partners to step in.

  • Nima Partners was engaged as trusted advisor and transaction lead. Our mandate covered:

    1. Strategic evaluation
    We validated the industrial logic of the merger, quantified synergies, and assessed integration feasibility.

    2. Capital structure design
    We developed a new investment vehicle allowing the shareholder to reduce personal exposure while retaining upside through preferred equity in NewCo.

    3. Diligence leadership
    We led a full-scope diligence process—commercial, financial, operational—organizing the information flow between both parties and external advisors.

    4. Negotiation support
    We structured the merger framework, economic terms, governance, and post-merger incentives, aligning all stakeholders from founder to family office.

    5. Long-term partner model
    The shareholder elected to have Nima Partners manage his investment, with a combination of management fees and carried interest tied to long-term value creation.

  • The merger process moved from an informal founder conversation to a professionally run transaction with clear structure, aligned incentives, and institutional-grade decision support.

    The shareholder reduced personal financial exposure while maintaining meaningful upside.
    Bison gained a path toward profitability through scale and synergies.
    The family office achieved transparency and comfort around governance and capital at risk.

    Most importantly, the company entered the merger discussions equipped with clarity, confidence, and a partner dedicated to its long-term value creation.

  • This engagement exemplifies the type of high-leverage work Nima Partners was created for:
    supporting business owners and private investors through complex, high-impact decisions where strategy, capital, and trust intersect.