California Equity Group
California Equity Group provides seller-side M&A and business brokerage services, buyer searches, valuation work, and exit planning. It states that its typical middle-market transaction size is $1 million to $100 million.
What stands out about California Equity Group
California Equity Group publicly describes seller representation, buyer searches, valuation and exit-planning services for middle-market companies. It represents sellers in California and buyers worldwide, while its official overview page does not state a defined industry-sector specialization.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
What does California Equity Group do?
California Equity Group identifies itself as a Silicon Valley middle-market merger-and-acquisition and business brokerage firm. The official website identifies Clarence C. Stone and Michael K. Sieber as principals.
The firm states that it represents sellers in California and buyers worldwide, including worldwide buyers seeking companies located in California. Its stated typical middle-market transaction size is $1 million to $100 million.[1][2][3][4][7]
California Equity Group publicly states that it provides seller-side sale, merger, and divestiture advisory. Its seller services include confidential representation, buyer identification, negotiation, and coordination with accounting and legal counsel through closing.
On the buyer side, the firm describes searches for strategic, financial, and individual buyers seeking California companies, along with acquisition-criteria development, negotiation, financing-arrangement, and closing support. It also describes valuation work involving company analysis, market research, financial-statement adjustments, and a CEG Valuation Opinion.
The firm’s EquityExit™ process is described as integrating financial, legal, tax, personal, and business issues into an exit-strategy roadmap for a privately held company.[3][4][5][6]
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: California Equity Group states that its typical middle-market transaction size is $1 million to $100 million. Michael K. Sieber's biography describes a focus on middle-market companies in the same range.[3][8]
What should a business owner evaluate before hiring California Equity Group?
An owner evaluating California Equity Group can verify how the firm’s stated seller representation, valuation, exit-planning, buyer-identification, negotiation, and closing-coordination services would apply to the contemplated mandate. The stated transaction-size range is $1 million to $100 million, and the firm identifies California sellers as part of its stated geography.
The displayed transaction examples include stated consideration figures for Statcomm Inc., Palo Alto Glass, Inc., Energy Efficient Lighting, Inc., and Top Line Electronics, Inc.; the transaction-history page does not publish closing dates for those displayed examples. The seller page does not identify the firm’s formal legal-entity type or firm-level securities registration information, and the contact page does not state engagement-fee percentages, minimum fees, tail provisions, termination terms, or expense terms. These items should be confirmed directly for the proposed engagement.[3][5][6][7][9]
What legal entity would sign the engagement and receive fees
Is the firm or any affiliated entity registered as a broker-dealer, investment adviser, or other regulated intermediary for the contemplated services
What are the success fee, retainer, minimum fee, expense reimbursement, exclusivity, tail, termination, and indemnification terms
What size transactions and clients does California Equity Group focus on?
The official overview page does not state a defined industry-sector specialization for California Equity Group. The transaction-history page identifies examples involving Williams Party Rentals, Valley Property Management Group, Inc., Valet Organizers, Inc., Kinetic Ceramics, Inc., and Printrex, Inc., but those examples do not establish a sector-exclusive mandate.[1][9]
The official transaction-history page states that California Equity Group initiated, negotiated, and managed the Statcomm Inc. transaction, with total transaction consideration of $17,000,000. It states that the firm acted as financial advisor to Palo Alto Glass, Inc. and the shareholder ownership group, with total transaction consideration of $5,100,000.
The same page states that the firm initiated and negotiated the Energy Efficient Lighting, Inc. transaction, with total transaction consideration of $11,000,000, and initiated and negotiated the Top Line Electronics, Inc. merger, with total transaction consideration of $76,000,000.
Other displayed examples include Williams Party Rentals, Valley Property Management Group, Inc., Valet Organizers, Inc., Kinetic Ceramics, Inc., and Printrex, Inc. The official transaction-history page does not publish closing dates for the displayed transaction examples.[9]
California Equity Group describes seller-side company sales, mergers, and divestitures, as well as buyer searches and acquisition support. The firm states that its typical middle-market transaction size is $1 million to $100 million.
The buyer page states that the firm assists strategic, financial, and individual buyers seeking companies located in California. The seller page describes confidential representation, buyer identification, negotiation, and coordination with accounting and legal counsel through closing.[3][4]
What does California Equity Group publicly disclose about fees, process and engagement terms?
The official overview page does not state a defined industry-sector specialization. The official seller page does not identify the firm’s formal legal-entity type or firm-level securities registration information.
The official transaction-history page does not publish closing dates for the displayed transaction examples. The official contact page lists contact locations and personnel but does not state engagement-fee percentages, minimum fees, tail provisions, termination terms, or expense terms.[1][3][7][9]
The official biography of Clarence C. Stone states that he has been licensed as a business broker/merger and acquisition specialist since 1979. This is an individual-level qualification statement.
The official seller page does not identify California Equity Group’s formal legal-entity type or firm-level securities registration information. Those details should be confirmed for the contemplated engagement.[2][3]
For sellers, California Equity Group describes confidential representation, preparation and use of buyer-facing information, buyer identification, negotiation, and coordination with accounting and legal counsel through closing. For buyers, it describes acquisition searches, acquisition-criteria development, confidential company contact, negotiation, financing arrangements, and closing support.
The firm also describes valuation analysis and its EquityExit™ exit-strategy process. Publicly stated service descriptions do not establish the commercial terms of an engagement.[3][4][5][6][7]
Questions to ask before hiring California Equity Group
What legal entity would sign the engagement and receive fees?
Is the firm or any affiliated entity registered as a broker-dealer, investment adviser, or other regulated intermediary for the contemplated services?
What are the success fee, retainer, minimum fee, expense reimbursement, exclusivity, tail, termination, and indemnification terms?
Which recent transactions are comparable by industry, geography, revenue, EBITDA, and transaction value?
What buyer universe and outreach process would be used, and how would confidentiality be protected?
Which principal would lead the engagement and how many concurrent mandates are active?
Can the firm provide dated references and complete deal terms for comparable transaction examples?
Sources & research notes
- Official website / firm overview
- Official website / firm overview
- Services / capabilities
- Services / capabilities
- Services / capabilities
- Services / capabilities
- Geography / market coverage
- Transaction size / criteria
- Transaction / portfolio evidence
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
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