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Focus Financial files a shelf registration as debt swells above critical '4X' level then its shares dropped to new low in after-hours

Focus CEO all but ruled out a secondary offering on Aug. 8 in response to a Goldman Sachs analyst who asked about leverage, then asked, again.

Author Keith Girard September 2, 2019 at 4:46 PM
7 Comments
no description available
Rudy Adolf: We don't have current imminent plans to issue equity.

Rudy Adolf

Focus Financial Partners
Stephen Evansworth

Stephen Evansworth

September 3, 2019 — 2:57 AM
Quite frankly, Rudy and Focus seem to really really like saying "Quite frankly"
Debt and No Real Organic Growth

Debt and No Real Organic Growth

September 3, 2019 — 6:03 AM
The first generation owners are gone and in Palm Beach on their yachts. No real organic growth without the tuck ins. Way too much debt for an industry that has very little debt. Analysts are just waking up after their firms took huge investment banking fees a year ago. Stock is down 60% in a bull market where RIA fees are rising without having to grow their client base. Time to replace Rudy, quite frankly.
Jeff Spears

Jeff Spears

September 3, 2019 — 8:52 AM
Focus needs to develop another franchise. M&A ran its course with United Capital and most other roll ups (consolidators) Seems like enduring franchise value needs real organic growth.
Children on Payroll

Children on Payroll

September 3, 2019 — 3:32 PM
It may be time to take Rudolph's son off the payroll who is suppose to be FOCUS's on China and Focus on true organic growth now that most of the founders of the acquired RIAs have retired and left the business to the financial engineers at Focus headquarters in the Rudolp's NYC headquarters .
Children on Payroll Gets 200% raise

Children on Payroll Gets 200% raise

September 4, 2019 — 11:59 AM
from S-1 which adds to Rudolph's debt for his shareholders- We employ Conrad Adolf, the son of Mr. Adolf, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman and Founder of Focus LLC, as a business development associate, and he received total compensation from us of approximately $0.1 million in each of the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016 and approximately $0.3 million for the year ending December 31, 2017. Such compensation consisted of base salary, cash bonus, Company contributions into the Focus Operating LLC 401(k) Retirement Plan and grants of incentive units. Question for now- What is it now costing shareholders while stock price is collapsing?
johno

johno

September 5, 2019 — 5:37 PM
Hey Matt - I would rather sell at 21 than where it closed yesterday - 19.58 !
Financial Engineering

Financial Engineering

September 6, 2019 — 5:43 AM
The "consultants" who never built an RIA or signed a paycheck on the front of a check destroyed great RIA businesses with their $1,100,000,000.00 of debt. The market and it's institutional investors responded by cutting down Rudolph's stock by 60%. The shorts love this guy. Time for Goldman to sell this loser to a bank who will quickly send Rudolph back to Austria.

Related Moves

Focus Financial makes 'abrupt' CEO call, lets Rudy Adolf go into 'retirement,' with 'no solution in place;' the eighth RIA chief executive unseated since June as VCs move in -- where is the EBITDA?

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice closed on its $7-billion purchase of the roll-up on Aug. 31 -- with no hint that its parting of the ways with legendary 60-year-old founder was in the offing.

October 24, 2023 at 1:19 AM

The upper RIA echelon mass-exit is now at 25 execs and counting -- for 25 'reasons' -- but it's hardly a coincidence, analysts say

Burnout and EBITDA weigh on CEO-types as never-ending exits claim Ron Carson, Aaron Klein, Bernie Clark, Rudy Adolf, Bill Crager and Tim Buckley.

June 7, 2024 at 11:17 PM

With RIA valuations ticking down and successions ticking up, Focus Financial deep sixes 'drunken sailor' pause, forgoes buyback plan and adds a CEO

CEO Rudy Adolf sees a 'softening' in multiples after a couple of frothy years when CI Financial dominated headlines and big RIA deals

August 13, 2022 at 12:39 AM

Oisín's Doubletakes: Clara Shih returns to Salesforce after 11-year hiatus • Focus reloads for M&A with $500 million debt raise, taking its credit north of $1.5 billion • Goldman Sach's 2020 partners list looks less homogenous -- even 'accretive' of women

Former HearSay CEO returns to her mother corporation • Focus Financial Partners debt levels soar 50% on fresh debt issuance • Goldman adds diversity, but snubs Marcus partnerships

February 6, 2021 at 2:39 AM
Mentioned in this article:

Focus Financial Partners, LLC
Consolidator/Roll-up Firm
Top Executive: Rudy Adolf

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