Aethlon Capital
Aethlon Capital states that it advises privately held, middle-market companies with $20M–$200M in revenue. Its public services include M&A advisory, growth capital advisory, and strategic advising, with a stated focus across manufacturing, consumer, technology, services, and logistics.
What stands out about Aethlon Capital
Aethlon Capital is a Minneapolis-based investment bank established in 1996 that offers M&A advisory, growth capital advisory, and strategic advising. It states that it serves privately held, middle-market companies with $20M–$200M in revenue and supports sale processes involving strategic buyers, private equity firms, and family offices.[1][2][3][7]
What does Aethlon Capital do?
Aethlon Capital is a Minneapolis-based investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions, growth capital, and strategic advisory services for privately held companies. Aethlon states that it was established in 1996 and focuses on privately held, middle-market companies with $20M–$200M in revenue.[1][2]
Aethlon publicly offers M&A advisory, growth capital advisory, and strategic advising. Its stated M&A services include sales to strategic buyers, private equity firms, and family offices. Growth-capital services include bridge financing, minority/majority control financing, and debt financing. Strategic advising includes strategic partnerships, contract negotiations, and strategic customers.[3]
Owners comparing advisory firms can also review Auxo’s M&A advisor vs. business broker vs. investment bank comparison, advisor-selection guide, and sell-side advisor evaluation framework.
Published criteria: Aethlon states that it focuses on privately held, middle-market companies with $20M–$200M in revenue.[1]
What should a business owner evaluate before hiring Aethlon Capital?
For an owner evaluating Aethlon, the firm’s stated coverage includes privately held, middle-market companies with $20M–$200M in revenue, a senior-led process, and potential outreach to strategic buyers, private equity firms, and family offices. The public fee description establishes a retainer and a success fee paid only at closing, but the official FAQ does not publish engagement-specific pricing terms. An owner should confirm the proposed fee economics, buyer-universe design, process timeline, treatment of rollover equity or continuing ownership, conflicts, and the senior personnel who would execute the engagement.[1][2]
What are the retainer, success-fee formula, minimum fee, expense treatment, tail period, and termination provisions
How would the buyer universe be selected, and how many buyers would be contacted
What size transactions and clients does Aethlon Capital focus on?
Aethlon describes itself as a generalist advisor with expertise in manufacturing, consumer, technology, services, and logistics.[1]
Aethlon states that it represented the owners of ATEK Access Technologies in a sale to Sound Growth Partners that closed on August 22, 2024. It also states that it represented Navegate’s owners in the sale of the company to publicly traded Radiant Logistics and advised the owners of Suburban Manufacturing on its sale to PCM.
Aethlon’s selected-transactions page further states that it ran a competitive sale process leading to GlobalTranz Enterprise acquiring Cerasis and negotiated the sale of Manna Freight Systems to Pilot Freight Services.[4][5][6][7]
The firm’s stated transaction work includes company sales, growth capital and debt financing, minority or majority control financing, and strategic assignments. Its sale work may involve outreach to strategic buyers, private equity firms, and family offices.[1][3]
What does Aethlon Capital publicly disclose about fees, process and engagement terms?
The official FAQ states that fees include a retainer plus a success fee paid only at closing, but that page does not publish a universal success-fee percentage, minimum fee, tail period, termination schedule, or other engagement-specific pricing terms.
The selected-transactions page does not state transaction values or detailed consideration terms for those examples. The official services and transaction pages also do not state a current investment holding-period policy or expected ownership duration because Aethlon presents itself as an advisor rather than an investment buyer.[1][3][7]
FINRA’s firm-level BrokerCheck report identifies AETHLON CAPITAL, L.L.C. as a Minnesota limited liability company formed November 1, 1996, with CRD #42241 and SEC #8-49765. The report states that the firm is registered with the SEC, one self-regulatory organization, and two U.S. states and territories, and identifies it as a broker-dealer with SEC and FINRA registration effective April 10, 1997. The report also identifies private placements of securities and fee-based merger-and-acquisition advisory services among the firm’s businesses.[8]
Aethlon states that its senior team remains involved from strategy through execution, including positioning, buyer outreach, negotiations, and closing. It may use broad or targeted outreach to strategic buyers, private equity firms, and family offices, drawing on a proprietary database of 3,000+ active buyers and investors. Aethlon states that most sale processes run 6–12 months.[1][2]
Questions to ask before hiring Aethlon Capital
What are the retainer, success-fee formula, minimum fee, expense treatment, tail period, and termination provisions?
How would the buyer universe be selected, and how many buyers would be contacted?
Which strategic, private-equity, and family-office buyers are likely to be approached?
What valuation methodology and transaction structures are contemplated?
Would the proposed transaction involve rollover equity, seller financing, an earnout, or continued employment?
What is the expected timeline for this specific company, given Aethlon's stated 6–12 month range for most sale processes?
Which senior professionals will lead the engagement day to day, and are there any conflicts or exclusivity provisions?
Sources & research notes
- Official website / firm overview
- Official website / firm overview
- Services / capabilities
- Transaction / portfolio evidence
- Transaction / portfolio evidence
- Transaction / portfolio evidence
- Transaction / portfolio evidence
- FINRA regulatory record
How this profile was researched
Auxo profiles are prepared from publicly available primary and authoritative sources and reviewed for entity identity, factual support and disclosure consistency. When a fact cannot be supported by the reviewed public record, the profile identifies it as something to confirm directly rather than inferring it.
Independent research profile
This profile was prepared by Auxo Capital Advisors from publicly available information believed to be reliable and is provided solely for informational and educational purposes. It is not an endorsement, recommendation, ranking, solicitation, or representation regarding the profiled firm, its services, qualifications, transaction experience, regulatory status, financial condition, or suitability for any particular person, company, transaction, or investment.
Information obtained from third-party and public sources may be incomplete, inaccurate, outdated, or subject to change, and Auxo Capital Advisors makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to its accuracy, completeness, or timeliness. Readers should conduct their own independent diligence and consult appropriate professional advisers before engaging any advisor, intermediary, investor, lender, acquirer, or other transaction counterparty.
Broker-dealer and securities disclosure
Auxo Capital Advisors is an affiliate of Weild & Co., Member FINRA | SIPC. Securities-related activities and securities transactions are conducted through Weild & Co.
Nothing contained on this page constitutes an offer to sell, an offer to purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security, investment product, or financial instrument. Nothing on this page constitutes investment advice, a recommendation regarding any security, or a recommendation to enter into any transaction with the profiled firm or any other party.
Any securities transaction, capital-raising engagement, investment-banking engagement, or other securities-related activity involving Auxo Capital Advisors or Weild & Co. is subject to applicable regulatory requirements, internal review and approval, suitability and other applicable diligence requirements, and the terms of a separate written engagement or transaction agreement, as applicable.
Inclusion of a third-party firm in this directory does not imply affiliation with, sponsorship by, endorsement by, or any other relationship with Auxo Capital Advisors or Weild & Co. unless expressly stated otherwise.