Another brave software company being rewarded
LogMeIn Inc., a remote access software company, has followed the very few brave tech companies to go public this year. Like the other tech IPOs... [Click on title to read more. ]
Posted by DangNguyen, Financial Analyst on 02 July 2009
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Recovery? Or transition to a normal recession?
Even the bears have stopped talking about a “great depression.” Now the question is whether we will see a recovery in the second half, or a transition to a “normal recession.” [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by NatBurgess, President on 30 June 2009
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Shoulda Woulda Coulda
My daughter’s wedding is just around the corner. The venue was booked over a year ago. Would I have planned anything differently.... [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by PatSultan, Director, Operations on 25 June 2009
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Summers are changing
I seem to recall the days when we used to say that if we can't get the transaction done by mid to end June, we would have to wait till September.
With every passing year the summer period seems to be more active.... [Click on title to read more. ]
Posted by BruceLazenby, Vice President on 24 June 2009
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Signs of Improvement
I think we are all hoping for signs the economy is improving and that the worst is behind us.... [ Click on title to read more.]
Posted by WardCarter, Chairman on 22 June 2009
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"Business Plan Jumble"
There are still a few companies playing “Business Plan Jumble,” where promising terms are randomly assembled into a value proposition.... [Click on title link to read more.]
Posted by NatBurgess, President on 19 June 2009
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Encouraging Signs
The recent IPO’s from SolarWinds and OpenTable are welcome sights as we in the tech sector continue to look for good news. Will the offering push open the flood gates and ignite the IPO market? Will they do the same for M&A?..click on title link to read more.
Posted by RyanBlakely, Vice President, Research on 18 June 2009
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Real dialog in tough times
Since the blow-up in October, conversations with buyers, investors and entrepreneurs have gradually come down to earth, to the point where many conversations are earnest and transparent. This is the silver lining of a challenging market. Less posturing, more efficient communication...click on title link to read more.
Posted by NatBurgess, President on 16 June 2009
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Growth and Exit Strategies - San Jose
I was invited by the World Financial Symposiums to Chair their Silicon Valley “Growth and Exit Strategies for Software and IT Companies” conference on May 14th. I invited Google, VMware, Verisign and Yahoo to sit on a buyers panel, and also invited some recent Corum clients to talk...click on title link to read more.
Posted by NatBurgess, President on 03 June 2009
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Difficulties an M&A advisor may have to face
One of my current projects is a good example for the difficulties an M&A advisor may have to face if the goals of the key players in the project are not aligned with the goals of the selling shareholders. In the current case, the management board has made one of their business unit managers the project manager for a divestiture...click on title link to read more.
Posted by MiroParizek, Managing Director on 29 May 2009
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Real dialog in tough times
Since the blow-up in October, conversations with buyers, investors and entrepreneurs have gradually come down to earth, to the point where many conversations are earnest and transparent. This is the silver lining of a challenging market. Less posturing, more efficient communication.
Posted by NatBurgess, President on 26 May 2009
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Tough Times
Tough times. Have to work probably twice as hard to achieve the same results. But despite the difficult environment – not only interest in selling but also interest in buying is surprisingly high. Example: In one of my current projects, only a few weeks after market launch, two offers for this particular client ...click on title link to read more.
Posted by FrankBerger, Regional Director on 19 May 2009
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Mega Deals: Twitter. Adding to the Catalyst?
It often takes a few big deals to jump-start the cycle. We call these deals “Mega Deals,” and in times of economic turmoil (see: now), these mega deals act as a catalyst for change in the software M&A environment. The term “mega” not only refers to the financial size of the deal, but also...click on title link to read more.
Posted by DouganMilne, Vice President, Research on 12 May 2009
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There still needs to be a exit strategy
Just getting caught up from a four-day road trip in Boston. I attended the Software Business SaaS and SLAM conference for three days, including the Selling Up Selling Out M&A workshop that I conducted the day before the conference. As I find everywhere, SaaS is all the buzz; and at a SaaS Conference, it is like preaching to the choir...click on title link to read more.
Posted by WardCarter, Chairman on 05 May 2009
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UK technology VC investment (April 2009)
The first quarter of 2009 has seen a heavy drop off in technology VC investment in UK, broadly back to levels last seen in 2005. Both the absolute number and size of deals have dropped – by over half from last year. Average deal size is now typically £2-3m, down from £5m...click on title link to read more.
Posted by JohnMelotte, Regional Director on 01 May 2009
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Sitting on the Sidelines
After hosting a Merge Briefing in Vienna attended by a number of venture capitalists and negotiating with private equity investors regarding the financing of a potential acquisition by one of their portfolio companies earlier this week, I have discovered that although there were record amounts of funding raised in the two years prior...click on title link to read more.
Posted by MiroParizek, Managing Director on 30 April 2009
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"Time to Market” in an M&A trough
In boom times we can sell the best company at a premium because time to market matters a lot. Buyers want a mature asset that already has traction. In a trough the opposite is true. Buyers are in less of a hurry. They shop around. Price trumps time to market. They generally buy the asset that is good enough, and cheapest. They don’t mind taking time to bring the code up...click on title lin
Posted by NatBurgess, President on 23 April 2009
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Challenges of Cross Border Transactions
Software is a global business and often the best buyer may be from abroad. However, cross border transactions carry additional risks and challenges. Buyer and seller may have very different business cultures and practices. I’m being reminded of this now in a transaction I’m working on. The buyer is Asian and the seller is North American...click on title link to read more.
Posted by MarkReed, Executive Vice President on 21 April 2009
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Will It Ever Be The Same?
On May 14, Corum is sponsoring the seventh annual Growth and Exit Strategies conference in Silicon Valley. The question of “Will It Ever Be The Same?” will be answered, as it is the theme of this year’s event. Executives from Google, Yahoo!, VMware, Verisign and other leading technology companies will be speaking and sharing their views of the current M&A...click in title link to read more.
Posted by JessicaEastman, Marketing Coordinator on 14 April 2009
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Who should make the cake?
Some things I can do well (or at least adequately) on my own – paint a bedroom, mow the lawn, bake a birthday cake. Then there are times when I hire an expert – to create my daughter’s wedding cake or photograph the ceremony. For such milestones, I do my due diligence to find the people who most meet my needs. If you’re selling your company, I suggest...click on title link to read more.
Posted by PatSultan, Director, Operations on 07 April 2009
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Software and the Stimulus Package
I searched for the word "software" in the actual text of the 2009 Economic Stimulus Package law the US Congress passed earlier this year, then read those sections. It took me a while to make my way through them; and my basic conclusion is that at least for those sections, it sounds like it will be a while, too, before any significant amount of money makes its way through to software companies. It
Posted by ElonGasper, Director, Advisory Board on 31 March 2009
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Companies need to get ahead of the curve
I recently had the pleasure of addressing 80 software CEO’s and CFO’s in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. There seems to be a feeling that most are going to “hunker down” and wait out the markets. I really fear that many good companies are going to be surprised by how bad it is going to get. In Canada...click on title link to read more.
Posted by BruceLazenby, Vice President on 30 March 2009
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Innovation
With VC funds hard to come by and IPOs non-existent, where will the new innovation VC and IPO dollars have helped to incubate come from next? One school of thought is that younger companies will become technology acquisition targets and be incubated through larger firms, a trend seen in the Internet space for years.
Posted by RyanBlakely, Vice President, Research on 24 March 2009
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Considerations in selling a software business
Corum's Regional Director for the United Kingdom, John Melotte was recently interviewed by Knowledge Peers, a membership organization for people who run growth businesses in the UK. Melotte’s video interview, “Considerations in selling a software business” is available to members of Knowledge Peers. For specific information regarding this interview, please contact us...click on title link to read
Posted by JessicaEastman, Marketing Coordinator on 23 March 2009
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Wanted: one firm, on the cheap
Bruce Lazenby, Corum's Regional Director of Canada, was recently interviewed by Krystle Chow of the Ottawa Business Journal in her article, “Wanted: one firm, on the cheap.” Chow’s article addresses the economic downturn and its effect on software companies and M&A activity. Read “Wanted: one firm, on the cheap.”...click on title link to read more.
Posted by JessicaEastman, Marketing Coordinator on 19 March 2009
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Divestitures Revisited Article & Web Event
Read Nat Burgess’ recently published article in NetworkWorld, “What vendors will need to examine as they look to shed assets.” He addresses why there will be a wave of carve-puts on the horizon for many network hardware and software companies. For a more in-depth look at divestitures, attend the Corum-sponsored webinar, “Divestitures Revisited"...click on title link to read more.
Posted by JessicaEastman, Marketing Coordinator on 17 March 2009
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If Apple joins the netbook fad…
I don’t believe Netbooks are a fad… but rather, they have yet to evolve to their intended potential. If you look at the user demographics for these devices, they are greatly driven by younger, smarter, web 2.0 and social networking junkies. These kids will grow up “in the cloud”… and I think that is the most important issue that isn’t being properly assessed...click on title link to read more.
Posted by DouganMilne, Vice President, Research on 10 March 2009
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Corum's M&A Flash Report - March
Corum debuted its monthly webcast program, the M&A Flash Report, on Thursday, March 5 with the topic “Software and IT Valuation Update: How is the current stimulus and market chaos affecting merger opportunities?” On the first Thursday of each month, Corum will produce a 45-minute webinar addressing the global M&A picture...click on title link to read more.
Posted by JessicaEastman, Marketing Coordinator on 09 March 2009
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Our industry has shown some resilience
The current economic climate has not been favorable to any industry. Software and IT is not an exception. However, what we’ve seen across several other industries, are significant declines of 40, 50 and greater percentages, the software and IT have not been hit quite as hard...click on title link to read more.
Posted by TanyaFroehlich, Branch Manager on 06 March 2009
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“The Edison Gap”
Have you seen the term “The Edison Gap.” I hadn’t, but I expect everyone else has. The phrase was coined by Francis McInerney, the managing director of North River Ventures in NewYork to describe the financial hole technology companies dig when they spend more on R&D than they get back in operating profits...click on title link to read more.
Posted by WilliamMontgomery, Senior Vice President on 03 March 2009
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