Hunter Wise President in Interview: More Than 10,000 Public Companies Should be Private

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Hunter Wise Financial Group, LLC, President and CEO Fred Jager, in an interview with analyst Francis Gaskins, noted that more private firms than in previous years are asking Hunter Wise for assistance in taking their public company private.  

"Public companies going private means that the company no longer must report to the U.S. SEC or to any exchange or quotation system," Mr. Jager explains.  "It is a very viable way to allow these companies to get through very difficult economic times."

The entire interview is available at

http://gaskinsco.com/hunterwise-jan.mp3 .

"Ten to 11,000 of the 16,000 public companies in America are receiving no commercial benefit by being public and are spending up to $2 million annually to stay public.  The intrinsic valuation of the company would be higher if it became private," said Mr. Jager, whose firm, Hunter Wise, is a nationally recognized resource in assisting public companies in the process of becoming private.

"Debt in today's financial market is expensive and difficult to get," Mr. Jager said.  "We show companies that they have better access to capital, more operational flexibility, and increased strategic opportunities by going private."

Hunter Wise's President and CEO said in the interview that the money spent on accountants, lawyers, and in management time to comply with government and other regulations causes a direct hit on the company's cash flow and its bottom line.  Also, Mr. Jager explained, the stock for these companies is no longer priced high enough to allow it to be used in raising money or in acquisitions.

Mr. Jager said in the interview that micro and small-cap companies should seriously consider going private if their stock trades for less than $10 per share, their trading volume is less than 100,000 shares daily, their market cap is less than $150 million, if they have no institutional following, or if the compliance costs of being a public entity are hampering the company's long-term growth.  A detailed discussion of this topic is available at www.hunterwise.com.

For more than three decades, Mr. Jager has been a nationally known figure in investment banking, representing both private and publicly held companies throughout North America and becoming a successful leader in middle-market corporate finance.  Formerly president of internationally renowned Geneva Corporate Finance, Inc., Jager also founded Denver-based Jager & Company, Inc., which was the largest corporate finance firm of its kind in the Rocky Mountain region.  He also was executive vice president of an investment-banking firm in Northern California and COO of one of the largest vocational educational companies in the world.  

A former intelligence officer, Mr. Jager has been a director of numerous public and private companies, is a highly acclaimed business speaker and author of more than 400 published articles.  A graduate of the University of Iowa, Mr. Jager is the Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Center for Unconventional Security Affairs at the University of California, Irvine, and a past Chairman of the Forum for Corporate Directors, as well as the M&A Source.  He additionally is a member of the International Business Brokers Association, the Alliance of Merger and Acquisition Advisors, and the Association for Corporate Growth.

About Hunter Wise Financial Group, LLC and Hunter Wise Securities, LLC: Hunter Wise, a FINRA broker-dealer, headquartered in Irvine, California, is a specialized investment banking firm providing the highest quality institutional financing, merger, acquisition, investment and advisory services for middle market public and privately-held companies.  Hunter Wise's team of skilled professionals possesses a wide range of corporate finance and M&A skills for the benefit of its varied national and international clientele.

SOURCE Hunter Wise Financial Group, LLC