Interview with Frank Grimaldi, Gordon Brothers
INTRODUCTION – Gordon Brothers partners with operating companies, advisors, investors and lenders to help fuel growth, facilitate strategic consolidation or finance new opportunities for businesses around the world. The firm leverages the world’s largest proprietary asset-recovery database and a century of disposition expertise to deliver the insight and accuracy clients need to make decisions.
With over 30 years of experience in asset valuation and commercial lending, including 20 years in asset management overseeing workout situations for distressed credits, Frank Grimaldi, Senior Managing Director, North American Sales Manager, is responsible for developing and maintaining client relationships for the firm’s valuations practice. Turnaround Management Association New York City chapter spoke with Frank to get his perspective on the past two years of market volatility, how this has informed asset valuations and what he sees as the biggest strength behind his team.
Q: How has global market volatility influenced asset values or informed how you support clients?
A: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected businesses globally and changed the way we live and work. While 2021 was a strong rebound year for many manufacturers, distributors and retailers, we are facing geopolitical challenges, global supply chain and fulfillment issues, inflation and declining consumer confidence in the U.S. and internationally.
More frequently, we are advising clients on how macroeconomic and other factors could help or hurt asset values, and how we can help mitigate their risk in the short and long term. In addition to advising on traditional inventory and machinery and equipment assets, we have seen an uptick in brand and intellectual property valuations as our clients require more creative liquidity solutions.
Q: Could you tell us more about the industry’s shift towards intangible asset valuation?
A: Lenders have become much more accustomed to considering intangible assets as potential sources of collateral, and our firm has seen an increase in brand valuations.
While intellectual property (IP) assets are not entirely new to the asset-based lending world, they have been adopted more readily in the last few years. Some brands may have the potential to carry more value in a post-pandemic economy. A company’s brand and other IP could gain value during change and could even be a business’ most valuable asset during volatility or a restructuring.
Q: What is the biggest strength your firm’s valuations practice brings to its clients?
A: No question, it’s our appraisers’ and operations team’s experience and expertise. Our team has valued assets as diverse as submarine communications cables, contracts and patents, mobile cranes and flawless diamonds, so the amount of market knowledge we have is extensive.
A key element of what we do is understanding what is happening in markets and how that will ultimately affect asset values. Not only is our team incredibly knowledgeable about the assets they appraise, but they also know what is happening on a macro or local level that has the potential to shift values, regardless of the quality of the physical assets. This includes everything from monitoring current and pending legislative and regulatory actions to understanding supply chain challenges, accounting principles, and companies’ business practices and systems.