New partners in the US joins Clairfield

20.9.2017

Clairfield International has further expanded its global M&A presence through a new partnership in the United States with Atlanta-based investment bank Croft & Bender. Croft & Bender provides mergers and acquisitions, private capital-raising, and financial advisory services to middle-market and emerging growth companies. Croft & Bender will be exclusive partner for Clairfield in the United States.

Croft & Bender was founded in 1996 by Ed Croft and Ted Bender, former bankers at The Robinson-Humphrey Company, Inc. and today has a staff of 20 with six managing directors. In addition, the firm manages C&B Capital, three growth equity funds with over USD 80 million under management.

Recent notable transactions advised by Croft & Bender include:

  • The merger of ControlScan, a provider of security and compliance solutions, with EchoSat, a portfolio company of Thompson Street Capital Partners.
  • The sale of Automation Control Products, a provider of server management software, to Rockwell Automation.
  • The sale of Service Brands International, a leading multi-concept residential services franchisor, to Dwyer Group.
  • The sale of SEI Group, a leading installer of insulation and other building products, to Narrow Gauge Capital.

The firm attributes its success to the close involvement of senior bankers in every aspect of deal execution, as well as its focus on key sectors including business services, consumer, technology, industrial, and healthcare. These sectors are also a focus of Clairfield International.

“Strong international access is challenging to find in the midmarket,” says Bo Briggs, managing director at Croft & Bender. “I am pleased that our partnership with Clairfield will permit us to offer our clients access to experts on the ground worldwide.”

Croft & Bender managing director Steve Hunter collaborated with Clairfield International previously in his career. “While there are several other loosely-structured international M&A-networks out there promising global reach, Clairfield is a true one firm partnership that can deliver superior results for our clients providing seamless teamwork and high-quality services.  I am thrilled to be working again with the professionals at Clairfield.”

“We are extremely impressed by the contact base and close relationships with clients that Croft & Bender dealmakers show across the US, including New York and West Coast, complementing our existing offices in New York and Miami. The Croft & Bender partnership shares values that are fully aligned with Clairfield’s,” says Alexander Klemm, executive chairman of Clairfield International. “We are pleased to welcome Croft & Bender on board and to gain greater access to this very important US-market for our clients and assist US clients in other parts of the world.”

29.5.2026

Sector dashboards May 2026

Our monthly sector dashboards are out! Our dashboards look at the valuation multiples across seven key sectors, each made up of a number of subsectors. The data takes into account the sale prices of similar companies based on; products, end markets, services, assets classes or other characteristics. The publications include all companies listed on the […]

Read more
28.5.2026

InterFinancial advises Commit Works on sale to Datamine

Commit Works is a Brisbane-based software company serving the mining and metals industry. Its CiteOps platform digitises shift-level planning, resource allocation, task coordination and production tracking, connecting the short-term plan to what actually happens on shift across underground coal, open cut, underground hardrock and smelter operations globally. Datamine is the world’s leading provider of technology […]

Read more
29.4.2026

Sector dashboards April 2026

Our monthly sector dashboards are out! Our dashboards look at the valuation multiples across seven key sectors, each made up of a number of subsectors. The data takes into account the sale prices of similar companies based on; products, end markets, services, assets classes or other characteristics. The publications include all companies listed on the […]

Read more
29.4.2026

From technical capability to economic inevitability: Why Clean Energy companies fail to scale?

Working with organisations attempting to commercialise clean energy technologies, I have observed a pattern persistent enough to warrant explicit articulation. Across hydrogen, electrification, storage, biogas, low-carbon fuels, and industrial heat, companies with credible technology, capable teams, and supportive boards still fail to compound enterprise value. Not because the technology disappoints, and not because the market […]

Read more
31.3.2026

Sector dashboards March 2026

Our monthly sector dashboards are out! Our dashboards look at the valuation multiples across seven key sectors, each made up of a number of subsectors. The data takes into account the sale prices of similar companies based on; products, end markets, services, assets classes or other characteristics. The publications include all companies listed on the […]

Read more
31.3.2026

Not every healthcare deal is a sale: rethinking what M&A can look like

When healthcare business owners come to us thinking about a transaction, the conversation almost always starts in the same place. What is the business worth, and what does a sale process look like? Those are the right questions. But they’re not always the only ones that matter. Embedded in both is an assumption; that the […]

Read more
27.2.2026

Sector dashboards February 2026

Our monthly sector dashboards are out! Our dashboards look at the valuation multiples across seven key sectors, each made up of a number of subsectors. The data takes into account the sale prices of similar companies based on; products, end markets, services, assets classes or other characteristics. The publications include all companies listed on the […]

Read more
27.2.2026

On the floor at EvokeAg 2026: Luke Harwood’s reflections on Australian Agtech

EvokeAg 2026 drew over 1,500 delegates from 18 countries to Melbourne in February, with the Federal Government committing another $450,000 to support the event over the next three years. The visible momentum is real, and the cohort of companies I spent two days meeting reflected it. Most were past proof-of-concept by a meaningful margin, with […]

Read more