Whitestone Associates is a boutique investment banking firm specializing in the buying and selling of industrial companies in the fluid power, motion control, and automation markets. Frank Gallucci, this project’s advocate, is its founder. The ability to analyze data is critical to Whitestone’s success. However, much of the analysis is currently done in an unsystematic way. To the best of our knowledge, there are few firms that use algorithms to determine if a company has a predisposition to sell to a qualified buyer. 

Whitestone has made a focused effort over the last two years to assemble a definitive database of enterprises that participate within Whitestone’s Market Sector. Utilizing and supplementing Whitestone’s database, it is Whitestone’s strategic intent to develop predictive algorithms that will provide leading indicators of a company’s predisposition to entertain an acquisition offer. Our Capstone project will complement and supplement Whitestone’s interest in this project. 

Our Capstone Project will focus on identifying structured and unstructured databases and developing algorithms that will provide the M&A practitioner some insight as to whether a closely held enterprise would be predisposed to entertain an offer to acquire their company. Many other potential insights could be realized. However, we will start with identifying sellers in a narrow industrial market niche: the fluid power, motion control, and automation markets. 

Preferred qualifications of student team members: