Paul Chapman founded Chapman Associates in 1954. Since then, Chapman Associates has closed over 2,400 transactions with a market value of close to six billion dollars.
Paul Chapman defied the conventional wisdom of the day by selecting the media and broadcast industry as the focus of his business. Conventional wisdom declared that radio stations were obsolete due to the introduction of television. Instead, Paul believed industries in transition provide the best opportunities. He always said, "There is a buyer for every company if it’s offered at a fair price."
Unlike other merger & acquisition intermediaries then, Chapman Associates started out exclusively representing sellers and based its income on commissions earned from completed transactions, not from retainer fees. Paul felt that an intermediary had not earned his fee until the transaction closed. Paul also believed that in order to create a market for a company you had to present the opportunity to as many buyers as possible simultaneously.
In a matter of a few short months, Paul Chapman was not able to handle all of the business that came to him. He expanded to include another Associate in 1955. He reasoned that two Associates networking and sharing opportunities would be able to close more transactions than each could on his own. This approach worked so well that Paul eventually created an umbrella organization to provide the administrative and operational support to the growing network of Associates that wanted to join him.
As the organizational demands increased, Paul Chapman eventually withdrew from direct involvement in transactions in order to manage the growing network of Associates. This marked the beginning of a transition in Chapman Associates. During the 1970's Chapman Associates grew rapidly, tripling in size in three years. During this growth phase, Paul developed the basic structure of the Teamwork Share Plan and the standard order of procedure that is discussed in greater detail within our manual.
During this growth phase, Joe W. Denny, a top producing Associate, initiated discussions to split Chapman Associates into two sister companies: Chapman Associates Media and Chapman Associates General Business. Chapman Associates Media focused exclusively on arranging radio, television and cable deals. Chapman Associates General Business focused on arranging middle market transactions in all other industries.
In 1983, after 29 years in business, Paul sold Chapman Associates General Business to three top producing Associates in order to pursue his life-long hobby of historical research and writing on a full-time basis. In the late 1980’s, Joe Denny bought out the other Associates who had taken an equity interest in Chapman Associates General Business, and he became the sole owner of the company.
Early on in Joe’s career he decided to focus his efforts on a different industry in transition – the transportation industry. At the time Joe became involved with Chapman, the transportation industry was beginning to go through the throes of deregulation and there was a great deal of uncertainty about who would survive and how. Joe’s hard work, industry knowledge, ethics, and, most importantly, listening to clients’ needs and objectives helped make Chapman the leading merger and acquisition firm in the transportation industry.
Chapman’s goal is to become the premier middle market merger and acquisition firm in the country. We do not intend to be the biggest. We simply intend to be the best. We intend to do this by adding talented and experienced merger and acquisition professionals in strategic geographic areas around the country.
Want to learn more about our history or the Chapman story? We would love to share how our experience, values, and relationship-driven approach have shaped decades of successful transactions. Contact our team today to start a conversation and learn more!