Van Etten expanding Mayflower
Triangle Business Journal - by David Strow
As if running a publicly traded company isn't enough, Stan Van Etten has big ambitions in the investment banking and securities business.
And he said he has secured commitments for at least $50 million in capital from a group of European investors, who plan to invest through Van Etten's Mayflower Capital Co.
Herbert Towning, managing partner of EPP Finanz Aktiengesellschaft, a Liechtenstein financial services company, said the investors he represents will be looking for deals in the $10 million to $15 million range, at the rate of four per year.
"Because (Mayflower) is in North Carolina, it makes it very interesting," Towning said. "You only have to drive around Raleigh to see the activity. We see Mayflower as our window to this market."
Towning, who lives in London, was joined by Keusch & Merlo Investments of Zurich and Centrum Bank of Liechtenstein in an $11.5 million investment in International Heritage in December. Van Etten, president, chairman and CEO of International Heritage Inc., is majority owner of Mayflower.
The investors' debt in International Heritage is convertible to stock at $2 per share. The debt can be converted to 5.75 million shares of common stock, which would give the investors a paper value return of nearly $55 million.
The status of IHI stock is clouded, however, by the pending SEC investigation.
The additional firepower comes as Van Etten seeks to expand Mayflower into a full-service investment company. It has leased space in the first floor of the Carolina Place building formerly occupied by the Scott & Stringfellow brokerage, which moved to the building's fourth floor.
Van Etten expects the full array of services will draw more investment into Mayflower's venture capital coffers. Since 1992, Mayflower has overseen the investment of more than $30 million in private companies, mostly in the Southeast, Van Etten said.
Mayflower's strategy is to infuse a company with capital, then supply it with management advice. With a target, annualized rate of return of 35 percent, Mayflower attempts to position the company for acquisition or IPO over three to five years.
So far, however, the only Mayflower company to go public is International Heritage.
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