Gartner Analyst Day - Big Data Analytics
I was invited to a Gartner Analyst Day last week. As you’d expect from Gartner, it was chock full of high quality material. The theme, “hunting and harvesting business performance in a digital world”, was organized around a few flagship topics. [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 06 March 2013
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Electric Reliability - Building a Smarter Network
The Super Bowl blackout was traced to an electrical relay device recently installed to protect the stadium in the event of a cable failure. The relay device triggered, signaling a switch to open when it should not have, causing the outage.[Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 13 February 2013
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The Langara Experience
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 14 January 2013
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US Energy Policy and M&A
Okay, the election is over, so let’s get back to business already. What can we expect from the new, old Obama administration as it leads the country through economic recovery and crafts its energy policy legacy? [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 21 November 2012
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Energy & Cleantech Market Spotlight Webcast
Major things are afoot in the energy and cleantech software markets. In 2020, the US is projected to challenge Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest petroleum producer. [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 20 November 2012
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Rice Alliance Energy and Clean Technology Venture Forum
The Rice Alliance held its Energy and Clean Technology Venture Forum last week. The organizer, Rice University, through its Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, is an active supporter of technology commercialization... [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 02 October 2012
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Disruptive pricing and delivery models
I was struck by a recent article by 451 Group Analyst, David Horrigan. The opening read like this: “DATAssimilate's PowerSearch brings PayPal-palatable pricing to e-discovery...." [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 22 August 2012
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The M&A value of having been a CEO
I just wrapped up a conversation regarding a client with a corporate development officer of a large, public company. It was my first conversation with this guy... [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 25 June 2012
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Cyber Attacks, Energy Security and Spearfishing
It been reported that sometime in March, the US Department of Homeland Security began issuing "amber" alerts that warned of a cyber-intrusion campaign aimed at the natural gas pipeline companies. [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 04 June 2012
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Energy Technology Investor Forum
I was recently invited to attend the Energy Technology Investor Forum in Houston as an advisor, to hear the investor pitches from young technology companies seeking investment from the Oiltech Investment Network. [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 11 May 2012
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Getting ready for Buyer discovery
It’s only natural that buyers want to learn as much as they can about your company before they acquire it. This discovery is essential to their valuation, risk analysis, the terms of agreement and integration. [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 01 December 2011
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Ego - the deal killer
We were divesting the software subsidiary of a large public company. The sale was being managed by a member of the Board of Directors of the parent, an attorney with a big ego... [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 14 October 2011
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Revenue through Channel Partners - Gross or Net?
A common conversation with clients revolves around whether they should show revenues generated through channel partners as a gross number (end user sales value) or a net number (after discounts, incentives, commissions or royalties have been accounted for). [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 03 October 2011
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The Impact of the M&A Advisor – Google/Motorola Mobility
In our Selling Out Selling Up workshop, we talk about the many ways that a qualified M&A advisor will impact the acquisition of your company. Here are two data points from our own analysis that are borne out in the Google / Motorola Mobility deal. [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 19 September 2011
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Timing The Market (Part 2): A closer look at your company’s ecosystem
I attended a board meeting last week where the Board was debating whether it is a good time to seek a trade buyer for the company (see Part 1). The volatility in the stock market was at the core of their concern that the tech M&A market would not be receptive and valuations would be too low. My position is that... [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 16 August 2011
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Timing The Market (Part 1): The stock market vs. tech M&A market indicators
I attended a board meeting last week where the Board was debating whether it is a good time to seek a trade buyer for the company. The recent movement in the stock market is at the core of their concern... [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 15 August 2011
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The importance of relative profitability
Many of us recognize how important relative profitability is for the attractiveness of an acquisition target, i.e. the difference between two companies in the same market, one that returns 22% EBITDA vs. one that achieves 10% EBITDA. [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 20 July 2011
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Term Sheets and Legal Fees for M&A Transactions
I have been informally coaching a business friend who runs a non-technology business. This CEO is a first time seller, has recently agreed to a term sheet with a buyer and is ready to begin due diligence and negotiation of the stock purchase agreement. My CEO friend has decided to use an attorney... [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 01 October 2010
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So what does scarcity really mean?
“I saw Nat Burgess (Corum’s President) interviewed on CNBC’s Closing Bell the other day. He talked about the 3PAR deal and the principal of scarcity behind the valuation. I understand how this works if I have a $200M business, but as a $10M software business, how do I create a sense of scarcity around my small business?” Good question.[Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 03 September 2010
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Timing An Exit – The Impact of Capital Gains Tax Increase
Timing is an important part of every seller’s decision. Assessing whether you can find the right valuation today or are better off using the next year or two to build the business requires thorough deliberation. US sellers must now consider the impact of an increase in the Long Term Capital Gains Tax rate. [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 15 June 2010
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Ventyx Energy Deal Commentary - ABB acquires Ventyx
The acquisition of Ventyx (www.ventyx.com) by ABB (www.abb.com) announced on May 5,has the look of a bellwether deal in the energy and environment sector. This all cash deal at $1B, a 4X TTM revenue multiple, is excellent and should inspire other sellers to test the market. [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 12 May 2010
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Let’s Talk About Revenue and the Importance of Backlog
Buyers may discount the quality of your revenues because of the way you characterize them. Take steps to avoid the wrong conclusions that will ultimately undermine your valuation. [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 23 September 2009
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Completing the deal and what you don’t see.
July was a good month. Two of my clients sold their software companies. In fact they closed within three days of each other... [Click on title to read more.]
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 21 August 2009
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Jeff Brown - Introduction
Hello, I am Jeff Brown. I am a regional director and deal maker for Corum, based in Houston. I joined the firm in 2007 after 25 years in technology entrepreneurship including roles as founder and CEO. Much of my experience is energy related. That's natural since my education is in geology and I spent five years doing CO2 related climate change research...click on title link to read more.
Posted by JeffBrown, Vice President on 13 January 2009
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