Indiana University and Business School Fare Well in U.S. News Rankings

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A merger and acquisition (M&A) advisor at Sun Acquisitions, Matthew Brunstrum performs business valuations and confidentially markets businesses for sale. A graduate of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business with a degree in finance, Matthew Brunstrum remains an active Chicago-based member of the Kelley School’s alumni association.

Located in Bloomington, Indiana University (IU) is a public institution that recently was named as one of the top 40 universities in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. In 2019, IU increased its ranking to 31st among public universities, which is up eight spots from last year. The university also was named in the top 50 colleges for veterans and the top 80 most innovative schools in the country.

IU's Kelley School of Business also stood out in the 2019 U.S. News rankings, earning a spot in the top 10 business schools in the country. Among public institutions, the Kelley School ranks sixth overall, and has remained in the top ten business schools rankings for four of the past five years.

Important Aspects of Marketing a Business for Sale

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Mergers and acquisitions advisor Matthew Brunstrum provides a range of M&A services to clients through Sun Acquisitions in Illinois. The clients that Matthew Brunstrum works with are typically buyers and sellers of lower middle market companies operating in several industries, including landscaping and party rentals.

To ensure they find the right buyers, business owners must carefully consider how they market their companies for sale. This begins with establishing a profile of expected buyers of a business. This doesn’t mean the type of buyer that the owner hopes to find, but rather the kind of people who will be interested in purchasing the business based on its industry, finances, location, and other factors.

Business owners must know the profile of potential buyers so that their marketing can be specifically targeted to these individuals. For example, buyers seeking to enter a specific geographical location will likely search for businesses listed for sale in local ads. They may also seek the help of a local broker to keep their search limited. Because of this, business owners seeking these buyers could benefit from placing ads in a local papers instead of international ones.

Understanding potential buyers also dictates how a business owner writes their advertisement. While ads in general should always be professional and brief, the details they include can be targeted more toward a specific group of buyers than another. Following the same example as above, business owners seeking location-focused buyers should include the location of their company and its customers in their ad, while owners seeking finance-focused buyers may leave this information out.

The Investment Management Club at Indiana University

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As a mergers and acquisitions advisor at Sun Acquisitions in Chicago, Illinois, Matthew Brunstrum assists corporate clients with the buying and selling of businesses, and also provides valuation services. Matthew Brunstrum is an alumnus of Indiana University, where he was a member of the school's Investment Management Club.

Indiana University has more than 800 student organizations that cover a diverse range of interests. These include 180 Degrees Consulting, 5Rivers Fly Fishing Club, Amateur Radio Club, and Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Club. The Investment Management Club was created with the goal of introducing students to the world of investing. 

Prospective members are not required to have any prior investment knowledge, and will learn about the different careers in finance, such as sales and trading, equity research, private wealth management, and investment banking. Students will also learn about factors that affect the currency, fixed income, and equity markets. Members can be undergraduate or graduate students, faculty members, or Indiana University alumni. However, in order to maintain active membership, club members must take part in at least half of all club events.

Celebrities Featured in PAWS Chicago Magazine

As a mergers and acquisitions advisor with Sun Acquisitions, Matthew Brunstrum assists clients seeking to sell or acquire privately held lower middle market companies. Beyond his professional responsibilities, Matthew Brunstrum volunteers at a local PAWS Chicago animal shelter. 

As part of its community engagement efforts, PAWS Chicago has produced a biannual magazine dating back to 1998. Below are three celebrities who have supported the nonprofit and appeared on the cover of its magazine:

1. Billy Corgan - The lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins has twice been featured on the cover of PAWS Chicago Magazine, first in 2014 and most recently on the Summer 2018 edition. In the latter, Corgan shares details on his family, touring with a small child, and his animal advocacy work. 

2. Albert Almora - The Chicago Cubs player outfielder, along with his wife Krystal and dog Luna, was featured on the cover of PAWS Chicago Magazine's Spring/Summer 2017 edition. The family partnered with PAWS Chicago to launch the Intentional Walk campaign to encourage support for homeless animals. 

3. Matt Forte - A former Chicago Bears running back, Forte was featured on the cover of the Winter 2016 PAWS Chicago Magazine. In the cover story, he spoke about his love for his dog Ali and the misconception that bully breeds are "mean, vicious dogs."

Travel Apps that Help with Vacation Planning

Chicago-based merger and acquisition advisor Matthew Brunstrum joined the business consulting firm Sun Acquisitions in 2017. When not overseeing transactions involving lower-middle market companies, Matthew Brunstrum enjoys travelling to new destinations. 

Technology has simplified many of the more time-consuming aspects of travel. Some of the most useful apps can help with the following aspects of trip planning:

Itinerary: There are several apps that help travelers keep track of their itinerary by congregating all of their reservations, flights, and bookings onto one dashboard. The Google Trips app gathers this information directly from an account holder's email address, while TripIt asks users to forward their confirmation emails to the app. 

Transportation: Nearly every public transit system in major cities offers an app that provides timetables, prices, and ticket purchasing locations. Similarly, rideshare apps such as Uber or Lyft have a presence in thousands of cities across the world. 

Guides: Well-known travel guide publishers such as Lonely Planet and Rick Steves have free companion applications that travelers can access to learn more about historical landmarks and cultural traditions. Apps like Cool Cousin and Like a Local are populated with local recommendations for food, shopping, and nightlife.

Basics of Fostering Shelter Pets

Mergers and acquisitions professional Matthew Brunstrum has helped close lucrative business deals for lower-middle market clients in the Chicago area. Outside of his work in advisory services, Matthew Brunstrum is a longtime supporter of the animal rescue organization PAWS Chicago, which has placed thousands of abandoned animals in foster homes.

Fostering is a great way to help homeless animals without making the lifelong commitment of adoption. Dogs or cats may be placed with a foster home for a predetermined length of time or until a forever home is found. Volunteers who foster pets help make room in the animal rescue for weaker animals and play an important role in ensuring that the foster pet can adapt to living with humans. 

While animals of all ages can do well in a foster home, younger dogs and cats may require more hands-on training. For example, very young kittens may require frequent bottle-feeding, and puppies may need to be housebroken and taught basic commands. Similarly, animals that have been neglected or abused in former homes will need a quiet and safe home environment to rebuild their trust in humans. 

Anyone who is interested in fostering animals should discuss their lifestyle, preferences, and prior pet ownership experience with animal rescue staff. This information will help determine which type of pet would be best suited for the volunteer’s home.

Three Different Types of Company Mergers

The recipient of a bachelor's degree in finance from Indiana University, Matthew Brunstrum has worked as an advisor with Sun Acquisitions since 2017. In this capacity, Matthew Brunstrum provides mergers and acquisitions services to clients who own privately held middle market companies.

Mergers are undertaken by a pair of companies to expand their reach and gain market share for the appeasement of shareholders. Below are three of the five common types of company mergers:

1. Conglomerate - A conglomerate is a merger between companies with unrelated business sectors and, at times, operating in different countries. There are pure conglomerates in which the aforementioned is the case and mixed conglomerates that still involve unrelated enterprises, but are done to gain market share or expand their product mixes. 

2. Horizontal - Horizontal mergers often occur as a result of two or more competitors in the same industry seeking a more substantial overall market share. The 1998 merger of Chrysler and Daimler-Benz, for instance, was a horizontal merger.

3. Vertical - A vertical merger happens when two companies in the same industry's supply chain combine their operations. Benefits include increased synergies and a reduction in overall cost given dual use of the same supply chain. One of the most prominent examples was the Time Warner-America online merger in 2000.

Sun Acquisitions Facilitates Sale of Chicago Property Management Firm

A graduate of Indiana University, Matthew Brunstrum has been working in mergers and acquisitions since 2014, currently serving as an M&A advisor at Sun Acquisitions in Chicago, Illinois. In early 2019, Matthew Brunstrum’s company was able to complete another company sale, matching a local property management firm with a qualified buyer. 

The company provides management services for local condominiums, apartments, and townhomes, posting consistent profits in recent years, as well as steady growth. It also has an existing electronic infrastructure for efficient management of its properties throughout the Chicagoland area. For these reasons and more, the company was an attractive purchase option that Sun Acquisitions was able to match with 11 qualified buyers from over 40 inquiries, securing two final offers. 

Sun was able to move the company into due diligence within 30 days. In the end, it was purchased by a strategic buyer who is looking for growth opportunities in the property management sector. 

To learn more about buying and selling companies in Chicago, contact Sun Acquisitions at (773) 243-1603.

Basics of Slow Travel

Chicago-based business advisor Matthew Brunstrum facilitates sales, mergers, and acquisitions among companies. Away from work, Matthew Brunstrum enjoys travel.

“Slow travel” has become popular in recent years. The slow travel movement encourages tourists to spend more time exploring a small area.

Slow travelers often become attached to one or a few destinations, take several long vacations to the same area, and develop a deep understanding of the location. Some hallmarks of slow travel include renting long-stay accommodations, such as vacation homes, and purchasing local foods from shops and restaurants.

Slow travelers usually interact with locals in their native language rather than relying on translators or tour guides. In this way, slow travelers get better perspectives on the ways locals live. As an additional benefit, traveling at a slow pace is more economical and more environmentally friendly.