A Glass House

Calvin Hackeman first spotted his favorites at a garage sale, clear glass finger bowls clouded with grime, dirtied perhaps from years of neglect. As an antique glass collector who owns about 5,000 pieces, Hackeman is always on the lookout for good deals and something told him these finger bowls were worth more than the asking price, a set of four for ten bucks. It was in its design, a band of interlocking Roman keys lining the rim, floating atop a field of eight-pointed stars: these were Roman Key & Star glasses, hand-etched antiques dating to the late 1800s. They were worth probably 12 times its cost, and at the stated price, an obvious steal.

In this sense Hackeman's hobby bears similarities to his day job overseeing due diligence for private equity: "You're always looking for the bargain that nobody else has spotted."

Hackeman is a national managing partner in the technology industry practice at accounting firm Grant Thornton, where he also serves as a managing partner in its private equity initiative. A 32-year veteran of Grant Thornton, Hackeman works largely with tech companies—a focus he has had since the mid 1980s—and tends to concentrate on the middle market.

When he pulls up to his driveway at the end of the day, however, he arrives at a home largely devoid of electrical devices. Relics of the distant American past fill nearly every space of his home—antique furniture accenting his rooms, antique china set in display cupboards, original Currier & Ives lithographs inked with rustic maps, pictures of American landmarks and depictions of historical scenes such as Lincoln's assassination adorning the walls. But what dominates are the omnipresent shelves of antique glassware, a collection he has been honing for over 40 years.

Glass cases housing his collection line nearly every single wall of his home. They hold all manner of bowls, vases, candelabras, drinking glasses and plates, as well as lesser known items such as salt dips and lemon plates, some dating from before the Civil War. Two small rooms abutting the dining room, both additions to his home, are devoted entirely to exhibiting his antique glassware. Other pieces spill onto coffee tables, bookshelves and mantles, at turns plain and ornate, tinted and crystal clear. They are loosely sorted by style, by manufacturer and by color: ruby, aquamarine, celeste blue, wisteria and marigold among the many.

Hackeman's Roman Key & Star collection, which now numbers about 200, fills an entire nook in one of the two exhibition rooms.

"There are several reasons why the Roman Key & Star glassware is among my favorites," he tells Mergers & Acquisitions. "First is the beauty of the glass and the fact that the design was cut onto the pieces individually by an engraver at [Boston & Sandwich]. To me, it is just amazing that they could do this many shapes and get the designs the same on all of them basically working freehand."

"Second," he adds, "Is being able to find this glass when it is relatively unknown by many antique dealers, which contributes to it being available at bargain prices—basically discovering an unknown treasure."

He spotted this rare find because he had been doing his homework. While researching tinted glassware made by the same glass company, Boston & Sandwich, he first became aware of the Roman Key & Star pieces. And every time Hackeman attends an antique show looking for new pieces, lessons from his dealings with private equity investors come into play, particularly in the larger outdoor antique shows when one is flanked by tables and tables of potential deals, as well as potential pitfalls.

One of the largest shows takes place in Brimfield, Mass. "The way that I buy is the same way that [a PE firm] invests. If I've got to look at all 5,000 dealers [at a Brimfield show], I've got to do it pretty quickly," Hackeman says.

Think of a stretch of road a mile long, with vendors lining the shoulders on both sides. To start, Hackeman immediately discards those tables that he has no interest in.

"It's like an investor who's either networking or looking at a business plan," he says. "They will take a look at the cover and see if there's a fit."

If not, it's onto the next book. If a match exists, then it's time to separate the good stuff from the bad. And in glass collecting, just as in PE, one has to be wary of inauthentic pieces. Then, if all else looks good, it's onto the negotiation.

The link between glass and silicon

In the current technology market, Hackeman believes that software is showing strength because larger companies and private equity firms continue to hunt for good fits among the smaller independent software makers. Software companies, rather than spending a great deal of time developing and building their own proprietary technology, tend to build through mergers and acquisitions in large part due to the relative certainty involved in acquiring a proven product as well as the time saved in doing so, Hackeman says.

"There doesn't seem to be any significant drop in the demand for better technology, both on the consumer side of things as well as on the business side," Hackeman says. "Businesses continue to invest in technology, and you've got places like China and other countries where there's going to be even more demand."

The key to continued activity, Hackeman says, is the passion for the product, which can keep buyers buying even in the face of high prices or, conversely, weakening economic conditions. And if something is non-core, or outside the realm of what a company does, then the same passion will most often preclude an acquirer from making a purchase. The same, he says, is true in private equity.

"I don't feel a lot of [PE firms] are buying businesses that they don't want to work with," he says. "They want to believe in the product."

It's the same reason Hackeman doesn't collect perhaps the most well known of glass collectibles, Tiffany. "I'm not going to buy something just because it has a good price."

If there is a major difference, however, between glass and private equity investing, it's that Hackeman, or most glass collectors for that matter, aren't necessarily searching for an exit. He describes that he isn't aware of the current market value of most of his glass pieces and doesn't actively pursue the resale market.

Hackeman will, however, let go of some pieces for the right cause. Last year, Hackeman bestowed his wares to his neighbors when The Manassas Museum hosted a showing of his collection. The collection he shared began from a single glass bowl in the ornate Hawaiian lei style. It was a gift that Hackeman received from his grandmother in 1965 when he was just 13 years old. As his collection began filling his open shelves, then bookshelves, Hackeman sought to build a world-class collection, and to accommodate the growth he installed the self-built cases that now line his home.

Pulling out an innocuous glass bowl, Hackeman revealed one of the ways he performs due diligence on a glass. He flicked the edge with his finger, filling the small room with a deep, resonant chime. It is a flint bowl, made by mixing flint minerals in with the molten glass mixture. The combination creates a bell-like sound. He flicks the bowl again and again and again, as if enchanted by the pulse. This is how you know it's quality, he says.