Lies, damn lies and statistics? Well the Office for National Statistics, the UK’s pre-eminent source of statistical data, released their Q4 2018 M&A data earlier this month. Overall the position is positive from a value perspective: Inward M&A in the final quarter was the highest...
Continue readingRecent statistics published by the Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (IMAA) for 2018 show that the number of deals increased by 4%. This placed the UK in 17th place globally in terms of growth – well above the US and France. Looking at sectors,...
Continue readingWe frequently have discussions with Tech owner-managers about the prospects of being bought by an overseas buyer. Conversations often stem from something that has been said (or all too frequently, ‘told’) to them about a pool of such parties waiting to get their hands on...
Continue readingIt’s been a very interesting 2018 – and who knows where we might be by this time next year (or perhaps even a month’s time!) but despite all the political turmoil it has been a very busy year for Prism and the Technology sector remains...
Continue readingAre You ReaDDy? We often open our quarterly seminar with the words – “Buyers are cautious, buyers are suspicious – and they need EVIDENCE”. I am reminded daily just how true these words are. Going through a Due Diligence (“DD”) process with a Private Equity...
Continue readingIt is pretty much a truism that a well-run business is a saleable business but it is often the case that owner-mangers doggedly stick to processes that may well work for them but that are not particularly helpful from an external viewpoint. For example, it...
Continue readingOne of the most frequently raised topics at our Maximising Value seminars is the value of IP in Technology businesses. There are numerous approaches to valuing IP but the first question to ask is ‘Is this actually about the IP in the first...
Continue readingExpect the unexpected was the mantra suggested 12 months ago – and 2017 has indeed thrown up some anomalies (Theresa May’s election disaster being one!) yet the markets have largely continued unabated. The latest apparent tech bubble for Bitcoin might seem crazy, but a look...
Continue readingHas HTC thrown in the towel? The mobile phone market moves at a pace that most other industries would struggle with. The latest move was the acquisition by Google of the “Powered by HTC” team at HTC – essentially those involved in producing the Pixel...
Continue readingNegotiation is an important part of achieving maximum value on business sale and as keen practitioners we are watching the Brexit manoeuvres with some interest. Apparently, the UK negotiators turned up with an 100 strong delegation, nearly three times their counterparts. Meanwhile David Davis was...
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