Like many acquisition firms, we look for assets that are not core to the original owner but might be to us, and opportunities where we think our team and approach can add distinctive value. What sets us apart, however, is our disciplined and highly specialized pursuit of opportunities in the growing asset class of brand properties that are well known but dormant. For our purposes, we define "dormant" as out of use; small in volume and trending smaller; or occasionally brand components in bankruptcy cases. As such, we focus on the intellectual property (IP) components of brands–namely, trademarks and copyrights–and typically do not acquire hard assets. We have been active in a range of disparate consumer categories to date. The common link amongst our properties is not manufacturing synergies, but characteristics like strong and favorable existing brand awareness, defensible commercialization strategies, and the availability of sophisticated contract manufacturers who can work with us to bring great products to market. While we possess a range of research and evaluative techniques that we can deploy independently and with our network of advisors, we prefer to source acquisition opportunities through direct "inside" collaboration with large leading consumer product corporations, to whom we can uniquely add value as a viable outlet for their dormant brand IP. We are often asked "how do you find these brands?" The answer is increasingly "great relationships," which are rapidly growing in both quality and quantity. We have acquired brand rights in myriad ways. We believe that parties on both sides of the table benefit from our deeply entrepreneurial roots, flexibility, and creative orientation to deal structure. Our efforts, however, are always undertaken as a principal in brands. River West itself is not an advisor, agent, banker, or broker. Below: just some of the leading companies that have executed brand transactions with River West: