The successful recapitalization of Blaschak Coal Corp. by Milestone Partners was made possible by old and new partnerships alike. Blaschak Coal Corp., the leading miner, processor, and marketer of anthracite coal, was founded by three brothers who transferred their ownership interests to their eleven sons and daughters. The shareholder base of eleven, nearly equal shareholders constrained Blaschak’s growth potential as each of the shareholders had unique needs (some were active in the day-to-day management of the business, while others were passive shareholders). The Blaschak family recognized the constraints of the shareholder base. It was important to pair their deep knowledge of the anthracite mining process and market with a partner that could provide both capital and professional guidance.

Harris Williams & Co. worked with the Blaschak family to help them articulate their growth strategy, develop a budgeting process, construct a five- year strategic growth plan, and organize decades of information. With this information in hand, a comprehensive search was undertaken to find the right partner, and Milestone Partners ultimately rose to the top of the list. Milestone had relationships with industry resources that were already located in close proximity to the company. These industry resources were ideally positioned to play an ongoing advisory role in helping the managing shareholders transform Blaschak by putting the right people and processes in place for long-term growth.

Milestone Partners, a middle market private equity firm, valued Blaschak’s niche-market leadership and high-margins. They also recognized the opportunity to provide liquidity to non-active family shareholders while facilitating the transition of ownership to key managing shareholders. This recapitalization positioned the managing shareholders to capitalize on their growth strategy while maintaining the legacy of Blaschak’s founders.

Identifying the right debt provider was also a key element to forming the right blend of partners. Because of Blaschak’s growth potential and twenty year track record with M&T Bank, M&T Bank was willing to provide a credit committee approved term sheet during the first quarter of 2009, a period during which credit was very hard to find.

Blaschak’s tangible growth strategy, the identification of the right equity and debt partners, and strong execution process by Harris Williams & Co. led to a successful recapitalization that alleviated the shareholder constraints and positioned a new partnership with Blaschak, Milestone Partners, and M&T Bank to increase significantly in value over time.