Vesticor Advisors Research
Advisory Approach
Vesticor Advisors is a boutique M&A advisory firm founded on the principle that owner-operated companies in the lower middle market are unique and require specialized attention and advice when considering strategic investment and exit opportunities. The firm is not a traditional Wall Street investment bank—its leadership consists of operators and business owners who have built, funded, bought, advised, and run organizations across diverse industries. This operational experience gives Vesticor a differentiated perspective: the team has been in their clients' shoes, having founded, built, and exited their own businesses before coming together to support other business owners.
The firm's thesis is that small and mid-sized businesses represent the heartbeat of the U.S. economy and the engine of growth. Vesticor's partners share deep respect for business owners who sacrifice and challenge the odds to pursue entrepreneurial dreams. Their approach emphasizes understanding each client's unique situation, customizing solutions rather than applying templates, and maintaining the confidentiality and trust that founder-owner relationships require.
Sector Focus
Vesticor operates as a generalist firm but has demonstrated depth across several sectors based on their deal history and team expertise. Their primary focus areas include:
Manufacturing and Industrial Services: The firm has completed multiple transactions in HVAC/mechanical services, industrial supplies distribution, and automotive parts manufacturing. The Core Mechanical transaction (sale to Amalgam Capital) demonstrated their expertise in commercial and industrial mechanical services businesses serving schools, airports, healthcare institutions, and municipal facilities throughout the Midwest.
Distribution and Logistics: Vesticor has advised general-line industrial supplies distributors, automotive parts distributors, and beverage/alcohol distributors. Their team understands the complexity of distribution businesses with multi-location operations, fleet management, and commercial customer relationships.
Business Services: The team has experience with financial services firms, having advised investment funds on capital raises. Their professional services background extends to asset management and wealth management businesses.
Consumer Products and Services: Vesticor's transaction history includes beverage distribution (beer, wine, spirits) and restaurant industry advisory. The firm's partners have operational backgrounds in food and beverage, providing relevant expertise for consumer-facing businesses.
Deal Track Record
Vesticor has been an active advisor in the lower middle market since 2015, with particular strength in Axial-mediated transactions. The firm has closed 7 deals on the Axial platform since becoming a member in 2013 and has been consistently recognized in Axial's Top 25 Lower Middle Market Investment Banks league tables (Q1 2024, Q2 2024, Q3 2024, and 2025 annual rankings).
Representative Transactions:
-
Core Mechanical (October 2024): Exclusive sell-side advisor on the sale of Core Mechanical Inc., a commercial heating, ventilation, plumbing and mechanical maintenance services business based in Chicago, IL, to Amalgam Capital, a Chapel Hill-based independent sponsor. Core Mechanical serves preK-12 schools, colleges, airports, healthcare institutions, churches, and park districts throughout the Midwest. Managing Director Gary Rakan represented the seller, using Axial to source and qualify buyers before closing the transaction approximately one year after initial outreach.
-
Industrial Supplies Distribution (July 2025): Advised a general-line industrial supplies distributor on sale to a private buyer.
-
Automotive Components Manufacturing (January 2025): Advised an automotive parts manufacturer on sale to an anonymous acquirer.
-
Motor Vehicle Parts Distribution (July 2024): Advised an automotive parts distributor on acquisition transaction.
-
Beverage Distribution (October 2022): Advised a beer, wine, and spirits distributor on sale to a strategic buyer.
-
Investment Fund Capital Raises (2013): Advised Cushing Renaisscance Fund and Cushing Royalty Income Fund on securing investment from a syndicate.
The firm has completed transactions across sell-side mandates, buy-side acquisitions, and capital raises. While many transactions remain confidential per industry norms, Vesticor's public track record demonstrates consistent deal flow and successful closings across manufacturing, distribution, and business services sectors.
Process & Fee Structure
Vesticor runs institutional-quality processes adapted for lower middle market companies. Their sell-side approach includes thorough due diligence, valuation analysis, preparation of offering materials, targeted buyer outreach, management presentation coaching, and full negotiation support through closing. The firm emphasizes minimizing distractions for sellers so they can focus on running their businesses while Vesticor manages the deal process.
For buy-side mandates, Vesticor evaluates acquisition opportunities, identifies and assesses targets, determines value and optimal deal structure, initiates contact, supports due diligence, and leads negotiations through contract signing. The team can also access debt and equity capital to finance acquisitions when needed.
Fee structure follows industry norms for lower middle market advisors. Vesticor requires exclusivity and typically charges a monthly retainer during the engagement period, credited against a success fee payable at closing. The success fee structure is generally a percentage of transaction value, with the specific rate depending on deal complexity, size, and engagement scope. The firm requires a minimum engagement size, focusing on businesses with enterprise values typically above $5 million.
Buyer Network
Vesticor maintains an active network of potential acquirers across multiple buyer types. The firm has closed transactions with independent sponsors (Amalgam Capital), private equity firms, strategic buyers, and family offices. Their Axial membership since 2013 provides access to thousands of qualified buyers, and the firm's leadership brings decades of accumulated relationships from capital markets and operating backgrounds.
The Core Mechanical transaction demonstrated Vesticor's ability to run a targeted buyer process—Managing Director Gary Rakan shared the opportunity with a select group of 292 qualified buyers after whittling down from 375 potential candidates, resulting in 38 pursuing parties before selecting Amalgam Capital as the optimal partner.
Competitive Positioning
Vesticor differentiates from lower middle market peers through three key attributes:
Operational Credibility: The partners are former operators who have founded, built, and exited their own businesses. This creates genuine rapport with founder-owner clients and enables practical guidance on operational issues that arise during due diligence.
Lower Middle Market Focus: Unlike bulge bracket and many middle-market banks that chase larger transactions, Vesticor focuses exclusively on businesses in the $5M-$100M enterprise value range—companies that often receive inadequate attention from larger firms.
Principal Capital Experience: Having been on the other side of transactions as business owners and investors, Vesticor's team understands seller psychology and the emotional dimensions of exit transitions. This perspective shapes their approach to valuation, negotiation, and client communication.
Not a Fit If
Vesticor typically declines engagements where:
- Enterprise value is below $5 million (their minimum engagement size)
- Businesses require significant turnaround or have pending litigation that could jeopardize transaction completion
- Sellers want to run a limited process rather than comprehensive buyer outreach
- Founders are not genuinely committed to a transaction (the firm values honest assessment over taking on uncommitted clients)
Team
Vesticor's leadership team consists of five experienced professionals with complementary backgrounds in investment banking, capital markets, operations, and business development:
Gary D. Rakan, Managing Partner: The firm's founding partner has led Vesticor since its establishment in 2015. A former operator and business owner himself, Rakan brings firsthand experience building and exiting companies, giving him authentic credibility with founder-owner clients. He was directly involved in the Core Mechanical transaction and maintains active involvement in key client engagements.
Jeff Bacigalupi, Managing Partner: Bacigalupi brings nearly three decades of capital markets and investment banking experience. His background includes institutional derivatives at Susquehanna International Group, institutional equities at Bernstein Research (AllianceBernstein), and middle-market M&A with Deloitte's Corporate Finance Group. He has also served as CFO of a publicly traded company, bringing public company financial reporting and capital raising expertise to Vesticor's engagements. He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BA from Michigan State University, and completed an equity valuation course at Columbia Business School.
Derryk Madsen, Managing Director & Head of Business Development: Madsen has more than 20 years of experience in financial services, capital markets, and business development. His career includes senior positions at Guggenheim Investments and Salient Partners & Advisors, where he focused on asset management and capital raising. He brings expertise in cultivating transaction relationships and understanding valuation from the perspective of both buyers and capital providers. Madsen holds FINRA Series 7, 66, and 24 licenses and received a BS in Finance from DePaul University. Previously an owner and operator in the high-end food and beverage industry in Chicago and New York, he understands operational businesses firsthand.
Brian C. Summe, Managing Director & Chief Revenue Officer: Summe has three decades of experience in M&A investment banking, capital raising, business development, and team leadership. His career spans sourcing and raising over $15 billion in investment capital across public and private markets, structuring and negotiating multiple deals for business owners transitioning, exiting, or growing their businesses, and leading business development teams. He holds FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses, a CRPC® (Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor) certificate, and is a CIMA® (Certified Investment Management Analyst) candidate at The Wharton School. Summe holds BA degrees in Economics and Political Science from Louisiana State University and was a collegiate scholarship athlete, All-American, SEC Team Champion, and U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials qualifier.
Mike Sciortino, Managing Director: Sciortino provides strategic guidance to business owners focused on long-term value creation and sustainable growth. With a financial services career dating back to 1983, he has held senior roles at preeminent firms including EF Hutton, Colonial, and Oppenheimer Funds. As Executive Vice President and Head of Distribution for a prominent RIA, he directed comprehensive marketing and sales strategy. A Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®), Sciortino is also the author of "Gratitude Marketing: How You Can Create Clients for Life," a recognized book on maximizing business value through client retention and relationship capital. He holds a BS in Finance from the University of New Orleans and participated in the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Michigan.
Geographic Coverage
Vesticor maintains a multi-office footprint across the Midwest and Southeast:
- Lansing, MI (Headquarters)
- Cincinnati, OH
- Petoskey, MI
- Jupiter, FL
This geographic footprint enables the firm to serve clients throughout the Midwest, Great Lakes region, and Florida while maintaining local presence in key markets. The Core Mechanical transaction demonstrated their ability to represent companies based in major metro areas (Chicago) while managing buyer outreach and due diligence remotely.