Complex Negotiation · Founder-Owned Company
A founder dispute, resolved into a win for everyone
Outcome
$200M+
Subsequent transaction value
Situation
Founder impasse
Deep, contentious dispute
Resolution
Structured buyout
Terms all parties embraced
A founder-owned company faced a deep and contentious dispute among its founders — the kind of impasse that can destroy a business and the relationships inside it.
Smoke navigated the situation to a structured buyout of certain founders on terms all parties could embrace, a true win-win. With the conflict resolved and the company realigned, the remaining founders went on to exit at a massive premium — a transaction valued at more than $200 million.
The dispute became the doorway to an extraordinary outcome.