M&a Masters

In today’s episode of M&A Masters, I sit down with Gaurav Bhasin, managing director of Allied Advisers-- a Silicon Valley-based investment banking firm with team members in Irvine, Tel Aviv, and Mumbai. Allied Advisers specializes in M&A advisory services, or middle-market companies, particularly in the technology space.

We have a very exciting show for you this week! In this episode of M&A Masters, we’re joined by Codie Sanchez, the managing director of Entourage Effect Capital Partners and one of the most sought out speakers in the cannabis business. Entourage Effect is a unique private equity firm as it was the first to focus exclusively on the cannabis industry. Since 2014, Entourage Effect has invested over 100 million dollars in over 40 companies!

In today’s episode, we sit down with Tash Meys and Viv Conway, who provide consulting and execution services dedicated to fast-tracking a company’s Instagram growth and engagement. “I think if you’re not using social media, it can be overwhelming with which platform to choose,” says Tash, when asked about what Instagram is and how it’s different from other mediums.

In today’s episode, we sit down with Jordan Selleck-- the founder of 51 Labs. 51 Labs provides digital marketing services to the lower-middle market and were founded based on a string of failures that blossomed into success. Our guest, and 51 Labs, focuses on generating quality and engaging video content for their clients through using original ideas and avoiding “templated” content.

In today’s episode, we sit down with Bud Moore, who is the founding partner of Valesco Industries-- a lower-middle market private equity firm in Dallas, Texas. We love everything Valesco is doing, especially because there is a large need for their expertise, guidance, and capital in the lower-middle market.

In today’s episode, we’re joined by Vania Schlogel-- the founder and CEO of Atwater Capital, who focuses exclusively on the media and entertainment sectors. In our chat, Vania shares with us the fine line between being able to have the formal, polished side of the business in conjunction with the creative and operational side.

The energy industry is going strong so far in 2020… and the outlook for the future is good as the industry responds to sustainability initiatives and reacts to market pressures. Bart Vossen of Houston-based SGR Energy shares how upcoming regulations are impacting the industry, as well as why the company looks beyond U.S. borders for most of its customers.

There comes a stage in every company’s life where organic growth is no longer enough. A strategic acquisition is the only way forward. But for middle-market companies, this is a tricky proposition. The management team is running the business… they don’t have time to research potential targets, negotiate price and terms, and all the rest that goes with an M&A deal.

This is Part 2 in a two-part series about a recent M&A deal in which PE firm Broadtree Partners purchased SAAS company, RedCAT Systems, which provides specialized HR services for major corporations like Uber, NYSE, and LinkedIn. This time we’ll be covering the Buyer’s side of the transaction with Rob Joyce from Broadtree.

The first of a two-part series of a real-world M&A transaction. First up, I’m talking to Steven Epstein, the founder of RedCAT systems, a Colorado-based SAAS company involved in HR and compensation solutions for clients like LinkedIn, Uber, NYSE, and many more. They were recently funded by PE firm Broadtree Partners.

In the world of tech, a lot of companies, especially the smaller ones and startups, their financials are quite opaque. You never know on the surface if one is about to go under or go unicorn. Austin Leo, VP of USI Insurance Services, highlights a specialized type of insurance, once reserved for large manufacturers, that can help larger companies identify who to do business with… especially those with the least risk of going under before they pay their bills.

After culling through a decades-worth of data on IT services companies, Colin Campbell, associate director at Livingstone Partners, sees serious potential for a market downturn on the horizon. He shares what trends he sees that point to this slowdown, as well as how Buyers and Sellers should change the way they approach M&A deals to account for it.

Acquisition can be the ideal way to experience fast growth as a company. But there’s no need to stay within your home country when looking at potential target companies. Jacob Whitish is the San Francisco-based vice consul for financial services for the U.K.’s Department for International Trade. And he doesn’t just work with U.K. companies looking into the U.S. but also American companies looking to expand in the other direction.

When we usually see cross-border deals, it’s a U.S. company acquiring a foreign business. But increasingly the reverse is happening, says Craig Lilly, corporate partner at the Palo Alto office of Baker McKenzie, and there are three primary drivers for that trend. But cross-border deals with foreign buyers aren’t without their pitfalls, especially with newly enacted regulatory and anti-trust and merger controls – at that’s just the start.

What happens when a minority of shareholders don’t agree to the terms to acquire or merge their company? The terms could change drastically… or the deal could fall apart completely. But, says Nate Gallon, managing partner of the Silicon Valley office of Hogan Lovells, there’s a way to avoid that fate… because the shareholders will be contractually obligated to vote “yes” on the sale.

When you hear the word drone, you might think of the military uses, the proposed Amazon.com delivery drones, or those jokers who shut down airports by flying drones around runways. But drones are serious business, says Gretchen West of Hogan Lovells in Silicon Valley. There are little-known commercial uses of drones that save time, money, and lives that will only expand in the near future… as long as government regulations can keep pace with development of new technology.

It’s a tight talent market out there in the technology industry. And that’s especially for all C-suite positions right now, says Stephen Kuhn, partner at Advantary. Yet companies, especially startups, are facing pressure from their boards to hire senior executives. And that means they’re sometimes rushed into bad hiring decisions.

The politics of healthcare is a mess in this country, as you know. But Matthew Hanis, executive producer and host of the Business of Healthcare, is more interested in practical measures for incrementally improving a system that is the most expensive in the world and doesn’t offer a great quality of care in exchange.

M&A activity has been heating up in the last few years… and 2019 is no exception. At the same time there has been a lot of movement in the healthcare sector, but due to its unique nature, special care has to be taken when dealing with acquisitions in this industry. Patrick Krause, a director at investment bank MHT Partners focused on healthcare, has shepherded a lot of deals in this sector.

What did due diligence in M&A deals look like before virtual data rooms? Teams of lawyers and other experts combing through paper files stacked floor to ceiling in a conference room. With the virtual data room, explains Darryl Grant of Toppan Merrill, those days are long gone.