Philadelphia, Pa. – New Direction Partners, the leading mergers & acquisitions resource for the printing and packaging industries, today reported recognition by Axial, a private network that helps middle market companies and advisors find the right buyers and investors, as #5 in its Top 20 Lower Middle Market Investment Banks in Q3 2019. This award was given to the investment banks that had the highest scores across three categories - client quality, buyer targeting and overall process effectiveness.

“We are honored to receive this prestigious recognition,” said Peter Schaefer, Partner at New Direction Partners. “In addition to the quality, targeting and process effectiveness metrics Axial has used to determine this ranking, the Axial League Table data incorporates and includes a variety of other metrics in ranking investment bankers in a highly competitive field. This recognition is a testament to the professionalism and dedication of the entire New Direction Partners team and the positive feedback provided by our clients as we work to support them in achieving their goals and objectives.”

According to Axial, the Top 20 investment banks are those who work with the most in-demand clients; balance breadth, selectivity, and accuracy in the buyers they engage; and generate the largest number of positive outcomes for their clients. Included in the Axial calculations are the following metrics:

Overall Deal Relevance: How many buy-side mandates (financial and strategic) align with the advisor’s engagements.

Process Selectivity: How broad or narrow are the advisors’ sell-side processes relative to their peers?

Signed NDAs: How many buyers indicate interest in each of the advisor’s engagements, measured by the number of signed NDAs.

Buyer Referrals: Feedback we receive from buyers regarding the manner in which the advisor manages their processes.

Closed Deals: How many deals has the advisor closed where they involved one or more Axial buyers in the process?

In describing its process, Nick Coetzee, Director of Business Operations at Axial said, “The Axial league tables were created to bring some much-needed recognition and transparency to the largest and most dynamic segment of the US economy – the lower middle market. As opposed to traditional league tables that only consider closed deal and dollar volume, the Axial league tables incorporate both quantitative and qualitative data on our investment banking member’s selectivity, the relative attractiveness of their client’s businesses, and overall sell-side process efficacy.”

For more information about the Axial award, visit Top 20 Lower Middle Market Investment Banks in Q3. For more information about New Direction Partners and the services offered, visit www.NewDirectionPartners.com, or find us on LinkedIn.