Based in Houston, Sterling is a Texas road, paving and pipe contractor founded 50 years ago by James and Richard Manning. In order to facilitate an exit plan for his older brother, James, Chairman Patrick Manning says the company decided to merge with a publicly traded firm. That allowed Sterling to gain liquidity and raise capital. "As opposed to paying off my brother, whos 77, we gave him stock," says Patrick Manning, 58. On April, 16, 2003, Manning rang the bell at the American Stock Exchange, where the companys shares are now traded (STV).
The succession plan is very unusual for a contractor. Manning says the firm came up with the idea and that the biggest headache in operating as a publicly traded entity is complying with complex securities law disclosure rules. The cost is at least $1 million a year, about 10% of the companys $11-million to $14-million yearly pretax earnings on revenue of about $150 million.