Mann, Armistead & Epperson
Mann, Armistead & Epperson, Ltd. is an investment banking and corporate advisory firm headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Its stated services include sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory, valuations, fairness opinions, corporate finance, strategic advisory, and related research.
What stands out about Mann, Armistead & Epperson
MAE publicly describes a senior-partner-led advisory model serving closely held and family-owned businesses, furnishings and mattress companies, consumer products, manufacturing, retail, distribution, and service companies. Its About page states that clients typically represent enterprise values between $10 million and $300 million, while a March 2026 upholstery report gives a broader general range of $10 million to $500 million.[1][2][5]
What does Mann, Armistead & Epperson do?
Mann, Armistead & Epperson, Ltd. is an investment banking and corporate advisory firm headquartered at 119 Shockoe Slip, Richmond, Virginia. The firm operates under the name MAE and describes itself as privately owned.
MAE publicly identifies services including mergers and acquisitions, sell-side and buy-side advisory, fairness opinions, corporate finance, strategic advisory, business valuations, capital formation guidance, balance-sheet restructuring, and industry research and insights.[1][2]
MAE states that it provides sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory, fairness opinions, business valuations, corporate finance and strategic advisory, capital formation guidance, balance-sheet restructuring, and industry research and insights.
The firm’s public services description also covers mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, buyouts, and related advisory work.[2]
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: The MAE About page states that clients typically represent enterprise values between $10 million and $300 million. A March 2026 upholstery report states that clients generally range from $10 million to $500 million and that the firm has been engaged by companies with valuations in excess of $1 billion.[1][5]
What should a business owner evaluate before hiring Mann, Armistead & Epperson?
Owners evaluating a sale, recapitalization, or other liquidity event can compare MAE’s stated sell-side process, valuation work, buyer identification, negotiation support, and coordination with legal and accounting advisers against the needs of the proposed mandate.
MAE’s published client ranges, industry emphasis, and transaction examples provide points for discussion. An owner should confirm the specific senior team assigned to the engagement, the proposed buyer universe, conflicts involving potential buyers or prior clients, the contracting legal entity, current regulatory status, and the complete fee and expense terms.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
What is the proposed fee structure, including any retainer, success fee, minimum fee, expenses, tail period, and termination provisions
Which legal entity will contract with the owner, and what current broker-dealer, investment-adviser, or other regulatory registrations apply, if any
What size transactions and clients does Mann, Armistead & Epperson focus on?
MAE identifies closely held and family-owned businesses as a core area of expertise and states that it assists with sales, successions, and other liquidity events for these businesses.
Its public materials also emphasize the global furnishings industry, including mattress businesses, consumer products, manufacturing, and related service sectors.[3][4]
The official MAE transaction archive identifies Jonathan Louis International’s acquisition of certain operating assets of Style Line; Southerland’s acquisition by 3Z Brands; W.S. Badcock Corporation’s acquisition by Franchise Group, Inc.; Mor Furniture For Less’s sale of a majority ownership interest to MLILY/Healthcare Co., Ltd.; and Southern Motion’s recapitalization with Gain/Line Capital Partners.
MAE states that it acted as Southern Motion’s exclusive financial adviser in a sell-side process that resulted in a recapitalization with Gain/Line Capital Partners and senior management. MAE also states that it advised management and the board of Kingsdown during a merger and recapitalization with Owen & Company USA Holdings, Inc.[6][7][8]
MAE publicly describes advisory work involving sell-side and buy-side M&A, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, buyouts, recapitalizations, fairness opinions, corporate finance, and strategic transactions.
The firm’s stated capabilities include supporting capital formation and balance-sheet restructuring in addition to transaction advisory.[2][7][8]
What does Mann, Armistead & Epperson publicly disclose about fees, process and engagement terms?
The cited official Capabilities page does not publish a universal success-fee percentage, minimum fee, expense schedule, tail period, termination fee, or other standard engagement-fee terms.
The cited official About page does not state a current firm-level broker-dealer or investment-adviser registration number or regulator status. This source-specific disclosure does not establish whether a registration exists.[1][2]
The official About page describes MAE as a privately owned investment banking and corporate advisory firm operating under the legal name Mann, Armistead & Epperson, Ltd.
An SEC-filed fairness-opinion record describes the firm as regularly engaged in valuation of private and public businesses and their securities in connection with mergers and acquisitions, competitive bids, estate and corporate valuations, and other strategic transactions.
The cited official About page identifies MAE as a privately owned investment banking and corporate advisory firm but does not state a current firm-level broker-dealer or investment-adviser registration number or regulator status.[1][9]
For sell-side engagements, MAE states that it defines objectives, assesses business value, prepares confidential sales memoranda, identifies and evaluates potential buyers, structures and negotiates terms, and coordinates with legal and accounting experts.
For buy-side engagements, MAE states that it defines acquisition criteria, conducts market research, identifies and approaches potential targets, negotiates terms, and manages the transaction through completion.[2]
Questions to ask before hiring Mann, Armistead & Epperson
What is the proposed fee structure, including any retainer, success fee, minimum fee, expenses, tail period, and termination provisions?
Which legal entity will contract with the owner, and what current broker-dealer, investment-adviser, or other regulatory registrations apply, if any?
Which recent transactions are comparable by industry, size, geography, and transaction type?
Who will lead the engagement day to day, and how will conflicts involving potential buyers, portfolio companies, or prior clients be managed?
What buyer universe and process strategy would MAE recommend for this company?
Sources & research notes
- Official website / firm overview
- Services / capabilities
- Industry / market focus
- Industry / market focus
- Geography / market coverage
- Transaction / portfolio evidence
- Transaction / portfolio evidence
- Transaction / portfolio evidence
- SEC filing / 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.
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