THE STONEWORTH HORSE

Near China’s northern border lived a man who really understood the nature of things.  He kept a good horse and his son became fond of riding it.  One day, the son fell off the horse and broke his leg. Everyone commiserated with him.  What a shame your son had broken his leg, they said.

“-Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing,” said his father.

Several weeks later, the Emperor’s army recruited all the able-bodied young men to take up arms and fight against invading Mongols – but not the man’s son.  He had a broken leg and did not join in the fighting. Though many neighbors’ sons were killed, the farmer’s son was spared.

Sometimes, there is a greater good when an event looks painful on the surface.

When Houston-based Enron Corp. declared bankruptcy in December, 2001, thousands of employees’ jobs were instantly terminated.  Things looked bad for Enron’s workers.  But many of those workers started new lives establishing their own business ventures.  We, too, were Enron employees until “Black Monday.”  We pooled our capital, business contacts and expertise and launched Stoneworth Financial, a firm to focus on the bedrock, lasting value of solid middle market businesses and helping owners realize the full worth of those businesses.

Today, Stoneworth Financial has a track record of success in mergers, acquisitions, exit strategies and value optimization for its middle-market clients. Falling off the horse was, as it turns out, a blessing – and that’s why we use the horse as our company’s symbol.