Metis, a Pacific Northwest M&A advisory firm specializing in the hospitality, wine, and beverage alcohol industries, publicly launched Thursday after successfully advising and closing two transactions in January. Erik McLaughlin, leading the firm as managing partner, has already expanded the team to meet demand with the hire of Andy Steinman, managing director; Philippe Michel, associate; and Jessica Leung, analyst. The firm has established offices in Seattle, Walla Walla, and the Willamette Valley.

With capital transactions in the wine, beverage alcohol, and hospitality industries expected to continue its brisk pace into the future, Metis quietly launched out of Exvere at the beginning of 2017 to concentrate efforts on in these specific sectors while retaining the experience and resources of Exvere. Since then, the firm has closed several transactions including Walla Walla Vintners, Firesteed Winery, and Tamarack Cellars, as well as the acquisition of a wine country hotel now slated for redevelopment by an investor group led by Columbia Hospitality.

Businesses curious about options for liquidity, exit, and growth initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions, recapitalizations, and management buyouts are encouraged to contact the Metis team for a full strategic assessment.

“After advising restaurants, wineries, and other hospitality businesses on capital transactions for more than 25 years, we launched Metis to create a singular company that is devoted to this expanding segment of the economy,” says Michael Brustkern, chairman of Exvere and Metis. “Erik McLaughlin has built a strong, deeply experienced team that will serve business owners located in the Pacific Northwest, as well as leverage our extensive global relationships to advise on outside investment in this fast-growing region.”

Metis, named after the Greek goddess of prudence and wise counsel, manages each transaction with utmost confidentiality through a proven, disciplined process that produces options and results for clients on the sell-side or buy-side.

“Most private business owners only experience the M&A process once, placing them at a disadvantage to experienced buyers. With Metis, our experience and expertise levels the playing field,” says Metis Managing Partner Erik McLaughlin. “With the clients we now have in the pipeline and the expected activity ahead, I knew we had to put together an all-star team as quickly as possible to serve our clients. These folks bring more than the transactional expertise needed to get deals done, they have more than 50 years of combined operational expertise in the sectors we serve. They understand these businesses. I couldn’t be more excited about the caliber of the people that have dedicated their efforts to us.”