A Q&A with Michael Cannon and Aidas Gimbutas
When it was announced on Monday March 1, 2021, that Michael Cannon, the co-founder and former CEO of 4Wall Entertainment, had acquired the assets and operations of Main Light Industries, many in the live entertainment industry were surprised. The news was however very well received industry-wide, especially as Cannon, now, President and CEO, Main Light, LLC, announced that he will retain all current MLI employees and continue the current business model of dry hire rentals. Started in 1981 by Aidas Gimbutas, Main Light is a vital dry hire provider of entertainment related equipment to professional production companies worldwide headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. PLSN recently spoke with Cannon and Gimbutas about the sale of Main Light and what they each see as the future of the company.
PLSN: Michael, what about Main Light appealed to you as an acquisition at this time and to bring you back into the industry?
Michael Cannon: I never thought I’d go back into the industry once I sold 4Wall, but this was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up. I honestly really missed the industry, which I can’t believe I am saying that, but I really did. I’ve always had a lot of respect for Main Light and Aidas, who has built a great company. It has good bones, great employees, and truly is the exact business model I was seeking. I think dry hire is going to be very much needed when the industry turns around. It’s very different from what 4Wall’s business model is and that was important to me with this opportunity because I didn’t want to compete with 4Wall. I really feel like Main Light is poised to grow. I plan on making a significant investment and we plan on growing the company responsibly, and in the direction that the industry needs us to so we are prepared to provide what the industry needs of us in to the future.
Main Light really fills a very particular industry need and that is something I like about them—they stay in their lane. They’re not starting out to be dry hire and then they go out and do productions. I’m a very big proponent of staying in the lane that is your model. Right now, companies are financially stressed as the industry comes back, entertainment companies might not have a favorable response from the banks and lending institutions. And I do believe the industry is going to come roaring back, but everybody in the industry will have the same problem with capital expenditures. So, demand, I think, is going to outweigh the supply of gear and that is why I believe Main Light is poised to plug the holes of the industry. Really, I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity of a company to buy right now than Main Light. The choice was very strategic. I wasn’t looking to just going out and buy anything. I was very strategic about the company and the business model that I wanted to get back into the industry with.
Aidas, tell us why you think Michael is a good fit to take Main Light forward.
Aidas Gimbutas: There are lot of reasons, including his character. He’s got the right mindset, the right personality, and the right attitude to take Main Light forward from here. It is a risk taking on a company right now, at one of the worst times in our industry, but he understands that and he’s going to make the investment in it to keep it going and keep the employees. I couldn’t ask for anything more. I feel he’s really honed in on what Main Light does and I really couldn’t have found a better fit. This is a 40+ year old business and I care about seeing the company keep going. Michael understood that. I can say that I sleep better at night knowing it is Michael taking Main Light forward and that means a lot to me because Main Light means more to me than just money. I am proud that my reputation has been that I cut a square deal with somebody and follow through. That has always been very important to me and I think it’s a direct correlation to the success of the company. I see that integrity in Michael; that’s why he’s a perfect fit.
As the new owner, what are your plans to work with the Main Light team, Michael?
MC: Well, first Main Light is not moving, I’m going to keep them in a Wilmington, Delaware. However, I live on a cattle ranch in Nevada, so, I’m going to work with them on long-term strategies, because really they don’t need me day to day. These guys have been with the company for a long time. I’ve never bought a company with better retention in terms of long-term employees. They are a very loyal and talented team. Full credit for that goes to Aidas and the way he has run Main Light since 1981. I can certainly understand that loyalty having completed this deal with him. He has been wonderful through this whole process. I couldn’t have asked for a better guy to make a deal with; he is a real gentleman.
So, as I said, it’s a great team of professionals with great reputations and I plan on letting them do what they do. I’m not going to get in their way. My long-term goal is really focused on improving their infrastructure. What they have is really good, but things can always be improved. I want to improve their infrastructure, so the company is poised for the growth I think we will see when the industry comes back. Part of that will be focusing on selling off a good majority of the current rental gear. It is all good gear, that is well-maintained, but I want to sell some off in anticipation of the shift in technology that I believe is coming when this all turns around. The manufacturers have had a year—or more by the time this is over—to work on stuff and there’s going to be a shift in technology. I’m going to make room for that shift and be ready to invest into that new technology. Again, my goal is to keep Main Light as the dry hire partner that the production industry needs—and will continue to need. That will be my focus.
And what comes next for you, Aidas?
AG: I am not completely sure what I am going to do next, maybe work on some product ideas but I have no real plan. I just need a few weeks to simmer my brain down. This didn’t happen quickly, but it also wasn’t a plan I had been working on for a long time. It just became an obvious business decision over this past year. I’d have been irresponsible not to have made it. You know, I didn’t plan on getting in the business when I started, and I didn’t plan on getting out of the business when I sold. That’s just the way things were and are, but it has been a great business to be in and like I said, I am pleased it is Michael taking it on moving ahead. My only business plan was to do what you like doing, do the best you can, and everything will fall in place.
What do you think you will miss most?
AG: Working with the people I did. I didn’t have a lot of turnover so the people that worked with me I have worked with a long time, many for over 20 years. I never referred to them as employees or people that worked for me. I always feel that we were all in this together and they worked with me. I will also miss all the vendors and manufacturers I’ve gotten to know for 20, 25, 30 years. And I will miss the clients. One thing I took with me from the Main Light office was an invoice from 1981. It was for a couple sheets of Roscolux gel from Butch Clark, and he’s still a customer. Those long relationships working together, I will miss.
What are your hopes for Main Light in the future?
AG: I want them to be so successful in a couple of years, I kick myself for selling!
