Seidler Equity Partners, a private investment firm, has acquired a majority interest in Hal Leonard. The move came as Hal Leonard CEO Keith Mardak began his estate planning. Wanting to insure the long-term financial growth of Hal Leonard, Mardak and his wife, Mary Vandenberg, a former Hal Leonard Vice President and current shareholder, started looking at outside investors. Although there will be a change in the ownership structure of the company, the management will stay the same with senior management retaining minority ownership and signing multi-year contracts, including Mardak who will remain chairman and CEO.
“I joined Hal Leonard in 1970,” said Mardak in a letter to employees, “and acquired the company in 1985, along with some managers as minority partners. We’ve had tremendous growth since the time I started, but I think the best years are still ahead of us. Mary and I decided we needed to do some estate planning. That, along with wanting to insure the company’s financial strength for future growth, are what have spurred on bringing in outside investors who will now have a majority position in the company.”
When Mardak joined the company in 1970, Hal Leonard had sales of less than $1 million. Today the company has annual sales of over $173 million.
Mardak and the management team made the agreement with Seidler Equity Partners after vetting many other companies. They cited Seidler’s focus on helping Hal Leonard with growth and acquisitions as an important factor in the decision. “They’re not flippers, they’re holders,” Mardak said. “We’ve had many opportunities to expand but have been reluctant to take on debt. Bringing in Seidler removes that obstacle and will help us accelerate our expansion opportunities.”