About Ames Watson

Ames Watson is a privately held diversified operating company that purchases, transforms, and partners with middle market companies to create long term value. Our strategy is based on bringing more than just capital to a company. We bring know-how, problem solving, deep resources and experience to grow companies and move them past inflection points. Ames Watson is a permanent capital vehicle with committed capital and the resources to move quickly and the capabilities to help businesses reach long term success.

General Summary

The Principal will report directly to the Partners of Ames Watson and will be responsible for locating, analyzing, and developing new opportunities to drive growth for the company. This person will be responsible for leading the execution of end-to-end deal transactions including identification, due diligence, negotiating, running entire legal document process, deal closing and post transaction close integration.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Completely manage an investment transaction from start to finish including negotiating deal, writing and executing offers, managing due diligence process with most due diligence conducted in-house, transaction management, lender outreach and raising of debt, negotiation and management of legal documents, and working with Operations team to develop post transition action plan.
• Evaluate current actionable prospects and lead strategic due diligence and transaction management for active deals.
• Manage deal Associates and Senior Associates by reviewing analysis and mentoring. Managing and assigning tasks during due diligence and reviewing and editing models and memos.
• Work with legal Counsel to draft and comprehend a wide range of legal documents including acquisition documents, leases, financing documents and partnership agreements.
• Other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor s degree required; MBA strongly preferred.
• Minimum of 6 years of relevant corporate finance experience in corporate development, investment banking, private equity, or venture capital
• Minimum of 4 years of experience leading M&A deal transactions from inception to close
• A willingness to support all areas of our business, including working directly with portfolio companies.
• Strong working knowledge of financial statements including balance sheet, cash flows and P&L statements.
• Experience with financial modeling and data analytics.
• Expert level use of the Microsoft Office Suite including Excel and PowerPoint.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills; ability to convey messages clearly and concisely.
• Experience negotiating with sellers, investment bankers and lenders.
• Ability to work autonomously and in teams, and at all levels of the organization (internally and externally).
• Ability to work effectively with levels of ambiguity and managing multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Willingness to travel.
• Intellectual curiosity to learn and question.
• Ability to be Devil s Advocate and question decisions and data.