A Textbook Example Of Unleashing Growth Potential.

You may remember textbooks as dry and boring, but we don’t.

This family-owned company operated 36 retail college textbook stores, while its wholesale business bought and sold used textbooks through college bookstores nationwide. However its growth was constrained by a lack of capital, cautious decision making by the family, and the absence of equity incentives for management.

Following our acquisition, Olympus took several steps to accelerate the company’s growth. First, we implemented a management equity participation plan. Next, we removed the family’s capital constraints so management could open or acquire 17 new bookstores despite the significant upfront capital required. We also encouraged management to pursue third party book stores, especially off-campus bookstores, by bundling proprietary inventory management software with its wholesale textbook services. The result was a significant increase in wholesale book volumes.

Lastly, we helped Nebraska Book acquire CSC, a buying service serving more than 500 independent stores. This greatly expanded the company’s product offerings to include apparel, giftware, credit card processing, store catalog production capabilities and freight discounts.

The results were quite strong, as EBITDA grew by approximately 60% in two years. With these initiatives in place, Olympus sold the business for roughly five times the amount we had initially invested.