Mark has over 30 years’ experience in middle market mergers & acquisitions, turn-arounds, profit-improvement, organic growth strategies, and capital raises in the UK, US, and Australia. He was a Strategy Consultant and Case Team Leader with Bain & Company and has held financial and executive roles in several middle market firms. An accomplished leveraged finance professional, Mark has been involved in over 270 large-cap to lower-middle-market sponsor-backed transactions—and, since 2014, has taught accredited Leverage Finance courses for over 350 commercial banks across the US. Principals of The Gaffin Group and SLS Capital Advisors bring pragmatic, actionable advice to our clients seeking long-term, sustainable value creation results and compelling M&A opportunities. Examples of distinct, tailored value-creation programs include:

• Development of search and screening capacities for new investment opportunities (strategy-linked, inorganic growth opportunities)

• Developing robust Deal Theses and Post-Merger Implementation plans supporting buy-side deal engagement

• Manage effective, efficient deal marketing, buyer universe development, diligence management, and deal structuring and negotiation for corporate M&A (sell-side) in lower and core middle market

• Lead negotiations with debt capital markets providers, pre- and post-completion

• Develop capital sourcing alternatives for portfolio companies and incoming platforms

• Develop targeted, effective 100-day plans to minimize execution risk on newly completed deals.

Mark earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Mark also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst® designations. Mark holds FINRA Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent State), Series 79 (Investment Banking Representative), and Series 82 (Private Securities Offerings Representative) licenses.

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Mark Gaffin of SLS Capital Advisors is a registered representative offering securities and investment banking services through Britehorn Securities, a registered broker-dealer (member FINRA/SIPC).