M&A Poem

Negotiation Cheap buyer insults seller Angry seller screams Negotiation Buyer wins seller wins joy Problem found cannot close

Posted by WilliamMontgomery, Senior Vice President on 31 December 2009

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Q1 2010 Corum events UK & Ireland

First of all let me wish you all a Happy New Year and indeed a new decade. If you are interested in any of the following events, then please contact me (johnm@corumgroup.com). [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by JohnMelotte, Regional Director on 30 December 2009

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The Biggest Mistake, Part 5: Due Diligence Nightmares

We have been discussing the biggest single mistake you can make in selling your tech company: talking to only one buyer. The reasons should be intuitively obvious to anyone, yet so many company owners see a buyer’s approach ... [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by BruceDMilne, Founder on 28 December 2009

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Crouching market, hidden value (Note from Paris)

Recently I met with the VC backers of a (lamentably) public company growing at 40% annually, profitably, with a market capitalization equal to the cash on the balance sheet. The public market is quicksand.... [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by NatBurgess, President on 24 December 2009

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Valuations (December 2009)

Recently I was pleased to make a presentation on Software and IT Service valuations at the World Financial Symposium in London. Month-by-month transaction volumes are up about 25% from 2008, back to leves last seen in 2005.... [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by JohnMelotte, Regional Director on 22 December 2009

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The Biggest Mistake, Part 4: “No Shop” Leverage is Lost.

As we discussed in prior installments, dealing with only one buyer can be a disaster, and is the biggest single mistake that sellers make. One of the major reasons is that a seller’s biggest single tool to control the deal timing is a “No Shop”... [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by BruceDMilne, Founder on 21 December 2009

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eReaders: Win or Fail?

After a recent meeting, a few of us were sitting around chatting about what we were doing over the holidays. This conversation quickly turned towards the gifts we planned on buying for friends and family... which quickly turned into a discussion about eReaders.... [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by DouganMilne, Research Analyst on 18 December 2009

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Make sure you understand the question before you answer

We almost lost a deal in LOI recently when a small thing turned into something pretty big. [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by WilliamMontgomery, Senior Vice President on 16 December 2009

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The Biggest Mistake, Part 3: The “Wear” Factor

As discussed previously, dealing with only one buyer can be a disaster, and is the biggest single mistake that sellers make. [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by BruceDMilne, Founder on 14 December 2009

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Getting face to face with your audience

Had the pleasure of traveling last week with a software M&A client to meet with a buyer at the buyer’s HQ across the US. Nothing like a face to face meeting to advance a deal. [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by WardCarter, Chairman on 09 December 2009

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Timing the Market (Note from London)

Some of the most interesting discussions at the London WFS conference occurred over coffee, in between sessions. [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by NatBurgess, President on 07 December 2009

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The Biggest Mistake, Part 2: The Lack of Leverage

We recently discussed that the single biggest mistake made in selling your tech company is only talking to one buyer, or only those buyers that approach you. I’ve lost track... [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by BruceDMilne, Founder on 04 December 2009

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Entrepreneurs and Money Men (Note from London)

The Growth Equity Panel at the London WFS conference included a fascinating exchange with one of Europe’s most successful serial entrepreneurs (two of his VC backed companies sold for over 50x revenues). [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by NatBurgess, President on 03 December 2009

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Re:Up - the change in valuations

We've seen a healthy stream of deals in the past couple months. Along with the spike in transaction volumes, we've also tracked a strong increase in valuation multiples, particularly since the floor in February of this year. [Click on title to read more.]

Posted by DouganMilne, Research Analyst on 01 December 2009

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