Situation
Shades of Light, LLC, headquartered in Midlothian, VA, is an industry-leading multi-channel retailer of lighting and other home décor products.

The Company was founded in 1986 as a single, small lighting store in Richmond, VA and has grown into a national brand with a sophisticated e-commerce website, regular catalog distributions, and multiple physical outlets.

Shareholders Bryan Johnson and Chris Menasco purchased the business in 2011 and implemented an aggressive growth strategy that included constructing a 115,000 square foot distribution and production facility, acquiring in-house manufacturing capabilities, and revitalizing the Company’s website to enhance customer experience.

Objective
Matrix was retained by Shades of Light, LLC to provide a full suite of liquidity alternatives that included majority and minority equity recapitalization partnerships as well as debt capital for the purpose of a membership interest redemption for a significant shareholder.

Solution
Carefully and strategically crafted transaction dynamic messaging to preserve potential capital provider interest while maintaining leverage through a structured process.

Proactively articulated a business narrative that refuted many anticipated buyer apprehensions.

Understood both the objectives of individual shareholders and the business needs to achieve its growth prospects in order to deliver a solution that exceeded client expectations.