RKCA Investment Banking
announces the sale of
Ascent
Technologies
Technologies
to a strategic partner
Business Productivity Software
Privately-Held · Independent · Middle-Market Only
Concept Preview · No. 1077
Investment Banking✦
M&A Advisory✦
Capital Advisory✦
Direct Investment
A life's work, realized.
Not just closed. Realized. — Cincinnati, Ohio · Since 1986
RKCA is a privately-held, independent investment bank focused exclusively on serving the middle market — providing M&A advisory, capital advisory, and direct investment services uniquely tailored to each client. Decades of collective deal experience cover billions in transactional value; personalized deal teams leverage proven processes to achieve exceptional outcomes.
1986
Founded · 38+ years of middle-market focus
$500M+
Aggregate deal volume advised²
$200M+
Aggregate annual revenue, portfolio holdings²
46
Deal engagements, PitchBook record¹
10
Direct investments · $20M+ invested capital²
100%
Middle-market focus · FINRA / SIPC member
Instrument I · Valuation Bridge
What is a life's work actually worth?
Most owners know their EBITDA. Fewer know their adjusted enterprise value — and fewer still know what a disciplined, limited-auction process adds on top of it. Move the inputs. The bridge below is an illustrative model of how RKCA's process works: find the add-backs, position for strategic buyers, and time the market when the company is right-sized and ready.
Your CompanyIllustrative Inputs
Methodology, transparent: multiples are illustrative middle-market ranges, not quotes or valuations. Add-back ceiling 12% of EBITDA (owner comp & one-time items); strategic premium 8–18% via limited auction; positioning lift 4%. Every assumption is shown in the bridge. Not investment advice.
The BridgeLive
Illustrative process uplift — —
Current market value (as-is)—
RKCA-maximized value (illustrative)—
The difference a process makes—
Where the value comes from
Request a Life's Work Assessment →
Proof of process: $500M+ aggregate deal volume advised · exits to Zillow (dotloop, 2015) & CenterGate Capital (TSC Apparel, 2017) · 46 engagements on PitchBook record.² ¹
Instrument II · The Three Disciplines
Comprehensive advisory & financing — at any stage.
Trusted advisors. Proven strategies. Diverse experience. Three disciplines, one standard: a senior banker on every engagement, no handoffs to junior staff.
01
M&A Advisory
Value-add transactional experts with a proven track record driving exceptional sell-side and buy-side processes — transformative results for companies ranging from venture stage to publicly traded, in virtually every major industry. Boutique practice areas in healthcare staffing and tech-enabled business services are among the most robust available to the middle market.
Private & public company sales
Acquisition advisory
Distressed transaction advisory
Sell-side
Buy-side
$500M+
Aggregate deal volume advised by partner leadership²
02
Capital Advisory
Strategic consulting, debt restructuring, and financing advisory — including placement agent services for growth-oriented businesses. Leadership includes a former structured-finance VP who sourced, structured, and negotiated complex senior and subordinated debt with private equity, family offices, and strategic acquirers nationwide.
Strategic consulting
Debt restructuring
Financing advisory
Placement agent
$100M+
Senior debt sourced & managed by Tom Compton at Fifth Third Bank³
03
Direct Investment
Principal investments and placement agent services for growth-oriented businesses. RKCA sources and manages a portfolio of direct investments in and around Cincinnati — software, healthcare, manufacturing, consumer products — with an operational skill set that adds value well beyond the check. Two realized exits: dotloop to Zillow (2015) and TSC Apparel to CenterGate Capital (2017).
Principal investments
Portfolio operations
Syndicate investors
Exit planning
$20M+ / 10
Invested capital across ten Cincinnati-area companies²
Independent, licensed advisory. Unlike many competitors focused on the middle market, RKCA is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA/SIPC. Each investment banking professional is properly licensed; independent ownership means no conflicts of interest from research departments or trading desks common at larger banks. ¹ PitchBook service record · ² Firm-published partner metrics · ³ Professional biography, rkca.com.
Instrument III · The Proven Process
One senior banker. Six phases. Zero handoffs.
RKCA assigns a senior banker to each engagement — a highly-personalized, high-touch advisory approach tailored to drive value throughout the life of the engagement. Select a phase below, or run the process end-to-end. Hours shown are illustrative of how the diligence burden shifts off the owner's desk.
Owner time commitment — typical week in this phaseIllustrative
With RKCA senior coverage
4 h/wk
Commoditized process
12 h/wk
"The thoroughness was incredible. Every step of the way we were told exactly what to expect — even after the sale: great price, fair terms. The service was the best." — Mike Iacono, President & CEO, Iacono Productions⁴
Instrument IV · The Tombstone Vault
The deal book, engraved.
A selection from the record: 46 deal engagements on PitchBook, 26 deals facilitated on Tracxn (22 M&A, 4 funding rounds). Filter by discipline, search by name, and open any tombstone for the story behind it. Decades of collective deal experience, covering billions in transactional value.
Sources: PitchBook service-on-a-deal record (46) · Tracxn deal facilitation record (26) · firm transaction announcements. Dates and roles as published by each source. Buyer identities shown only where publicly announced.
Instrument V · Buyer Intelligence
Who will understand the nuances of your space?
"They wanted to understand not just our goals, but our industry. When they took us to market, we felt comfortable they understood the nuances of the space." — Mukesh Ram, Founder & Executive, Pyramid Controls⁴. Profile your company; the matrix plots where your sale lives and which buyer universe fits.
Company ProfileYour Inputs
How the plot works: the X-axis is how much industry nuance your buyer needs; the Y-axis is how wide the buyer search must go. RKCA's model — worldwide search, evaluated many, proceed with a select few, customized approach per buyer — sits in the upper-right quadrant.
● Your profile — plotting…
1077 Celestial St → worldwide
Instrument VI · Principals, Not Just Advisors
We invest where we advise. Skin in the game.
RKCA sources and manages a portfolio of direct investments in and around Cincinnati — more than $20M of invested capital across ten companies, with holdings generating over $200M in aggregate annual revenue. Our bankers work inside operating companies, so the operational skill set comes with the term sheet.
$20M+
Invested capital, direct investments²
10
Portfolio companies, Cincinnati-area²
$200M+
Aggregate annual revenue, holdings²
2
Realized exits — Zillow '15 · CenterGate '17²
— /100
Direct investment fit — illustrative screen
Run the screen: tell us sector, revenue, EBITDA, and where the company operates. The screen reflects the portfolio Brent Rippe leads — software, healthcare, manufacturing, and consumer products in or around Cincinnati, each grown toward a future sale.
"The foundation Brent, Tom, and Mono built years ago has resulted in new investments for the firm and additional M&A advisory clients. Our team has grown from five to fifteen since I joined." — Neil Ursic, Partner (joined 2019 as VP, Direct Investments; former CEO, Batterii)⁵
Instrument VII · The Capital Desk
Restructure the balance sheet before it restructures you.
Strategic consulting, debt restructuring, and financing advisory — led by bankers who sourced, originated, and managed hundreds of millions of dollars in senior debt and evaluated hundreds of middle-market transactions.³ Model a restructured capital structure below. Illustrative; every credit is different.
Current Capital StructureYour Inputs
Benchmarks (illustrative): senior capacity to ~3.0× EBITDA, subordinated layer to ~1.5×, ABL against eligible receivables & inventory. In stressed situations, distressed-transaction advisory and forbearance positioning come first.
Proposed Structure vs. Today—
Current leverage
Proposed structure (incl. growth capital)
Senior / term
ABL revolver
Subordinated
Equity
New capital
Total senior capacity (≈3.0× EBITDA)—
Subordinated layer (≈1.5× EBITDA)—
Total debt capacity—
Growth capital: funded by structure—
Pro-forma total leverage—
—
Request Capital Advisory →Instrument VIII · Sell-Side Readiness
Be right-sized and ready before the buyers arrive.
"We kept a clean house every day — that's the power of a long-term structure. Since engaging RKCA early, we knew what buyers found attractive… When we wanted to sell, we were right-sized and ready." — Steve Wolf, Co-founder, ILS⁴. Score ten factors; the radar shows where value is leaking and what to fix first.
Ten-Factor Assessment1 = weak · 10 = strong
—%
—
Priority Action PlanLowest scores first
RKCA's primary goal is assisting clients in creating — and maximizing — company profitability, therefore maximizing the ultimate transaction price. The primary goal is the same whether you sell in year one or year five.
Instrument IX · Since 1986
Forty years on one novel principle.
RKCA was founded in 1986 on a novel principle: middle-market businesses deserve exceptional capital advisory services. The proven processes that followed have resulted in numerous closed transactions and successful client outcomes — and the team is proud to continue that legacy.
Instrument X · Beyond Advisory
Bankers who have run the businesses.
RKCA's investment bankers offer more than advisory expertise. Collectively, the professionals have decades of experience driving value within operating companies and the firm's direct-investment portfolio — and in every engagement, that operational knowledge is brought to bear on client outcomes. Select your challenge; the map shows the playbook.
The RKCA operational playbook
—
Decades of collective deal experience, covering billions in transactional value — leveraged inside operating companies, not just across the table.
Instrument XI · The Record
Decades of experience. Billions in transactional value.
The numbers below are drawn from the firm's published record and third-party databases — each figure traceable to a named source.
0
Years in business, founded 1986
0
Deal engagements — PitchBook¹
0
Deals facilitated — Tracxn (22 M&A · 4 funding)¹
0
Aggregate deal volume advised²
0
Holdings' aggregate annual revenue²
0
Direct investments · $20M+ invested²
0
Buy-side mandates, 2006–2024¹
0
Middle-market focus · FINRA/SIPC member
In Their Words · Nine Clients, One Process
"An elegant performance worth its weight in gold."
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—
1 / 9
⁴ Client testimonials. Experience may not be representative of all clients; testimonials are unpaid and are not a guarantee of future performance or success.
The Bankers · Verified Roster
Senior coverage on every engagement.
Fifteen to eighteen professionals by database count — partners, principals, vice presidents, and analysts. Contact details below are as published on rkca.com and professional databases.⁶
Managing Partner · Primary Contact
Tom Compton
MBA, BSBA — Xavier University · FINRA Series 79 · 63 · 24 · SIE
Leads strategy and execution across M&A, financing, and direct-investment transactions, with 20+ years of middle-market experience spanning business services, industrials, niche manufacturing, healthcare, and SaaS — from venture stage to publicly traded, closely-held, founder-led businesses. Before RKCA: a decade as VP in the Structured Finance Group at Fifth Third Bank (NASDAQ: FITB), sourcing and negotiating complex senior and subordinated debt with private equity, family offices, and strategic acquirers nationwide. At RKCA 10+ years. Civic: Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Mission Advancement Advisory Board, ACG Cincinnati, Xavier University President's Advisory Council, formerly TMA Southwest Ohio / TACR.
Founder & CEO
Robert Bennett
Founded RKCA in 1986 on the novel principle that middle-market businesses deserve exceptional capital advisory services. Grew the firm to $13.6M revenue with a 14-person team by 2024 — bootstrapped, $0 outside funding.⁷
| Professional | Title | Verified Note | Contact (as published) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Rippe | Partner / Managing Partner | Leads direct investments; exits dotloop → Zillow '15, TSC Apparel → CenterGate '17; $500M+ advised, $200M+ holdings² | brippe@rkca.com (513) 977-4524 |
| Mono Bhattacharya | Partner / Managing Partner | Former Director of Strategy & M&A, Convergys — $3B revenue, 120k employees, 40+ countries; $2B+ transactions executed across four continents | mono@rkca.com (513) 229-9042 |
| Neil Ursic | Partner | Promoted to Partner 2021; joined 2019 as VP, Direct Investments; former CEO, Batterii (SaaS market research, Cincinnati)⁵ | nursic@rkca.com (513) 229-9044 |
| Richard Chalgren | Senior Partner | Listed Senior Partner, Datanyze & KonaEquity⁶ | rchalgren@rkca.com |
| Carter Gaither | Managing Director | Listed Managing Director, Datanyze⁶ | via main office |
| Don Feldmann | Director | Listed Director, Mergr⁶ | dfeldmann@rkca.com (513) 977-4592 |
| Brandon Witt | Director of Finance & CCO | Listed Director of Finance & CCO, Datanyze⁶ | via main office |
| Carlton Zesch | Vice President | Listed Vice President, Mergr⁶ | czesch@rkca.com (513) 977-4513 |
| Eric Hornung | Vice President | Joined 2019; valuation models & buyer research; BSBA Ohio State; Series 63 · 79 · 82 · SIE⁶ | ehornung@rkca.com (513) 229-9046 |
| Dominic Hering | Vice President | Listed Vice President, Mergr⁶ | dhering@rkca.com |
| Alexander Mumma | Manager of Operations · Principal | Datanyze & Tracxn⁶ | via main office |
| Scott Horne | Principal | Tracxn — Covington⁶ | via main office |
| Kingsley Holly · Colton Markland | Investment Banking Analysts | Datanyze⁶ | via main office |
| Justin Hollon | Associate | Datanyze⁶ | via main office |
| Joyce Tabar | Office Manager | Datanyze⁶ | via main office |
Email pattern (RocketReach, 87.7% confidence): first-initial + last @rkca.com · e.g. tcompton@rkca.com. All securities transactions conducted through RKCA Inc, member FINRA/SIPC.
The Consultation · No Cost, No Obligation
Put a senior banker on your side of the table.
Every engagement begins the same way RKCA has begun them since 1986: a conversation about the business, the goals, and the industry's nuances. Tell us where you are; a partner will respond within one business day.
Office
1077 Celestial Street, Suite 555
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Main Line
Managing Partner — Primary
Regulatory
RKCA Inc is a registered broker-dealer, member FINRA / SIPC. Verify any professional at FINRA BrokerCheck.
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