As of September 1, 2021, we are pleased to be part of D.A. Davidson & Co. We will continue serving our clients as part of their full-service Investment Banking Group. Click here to learn more about our combined strengths.
×

Archive for Category: In the News

Dec 1, 2015

No Need To Go Public?

In the News , , , 0 Comments

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal Telis Demos and Corrie Driebusch presented a solid case for the downtick in IPOs – companies prefer to go the M&A route, especially in volatile financial markets. We concur but actually the M&A route is only part of the story. It’s important to think about why companies want to go public in the first place. Reasons may include liquidity for shareholders and employees, capital for growth, currency for acquisitions and probably ego, all are part of the IPO equation. As M&A bankers we discuss the viability of an IPO with a lot of businesses and…

Read More

Dec 1, 2015

FinTech Disruptors Drive Visa and Visa Europe Combination

In the News , , 0 Comments

Earlier this month, Visa Inc. announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Visa Europe for €21.2 billion (upfront consideration: €11.5 billion in cash and €5.0 billion in convertible preferred stock; contingent consideration: €4.7 billion). We believe this transaction makes strategic sense for Visa, and the valuation multiples were not as high as some have reported. Nevertheless, the integration, particularly related to technology, will be challenging as reflected by the $450 to $500 million in integration costs expected over the next 5 years. In addition, the ability for Visa Europe to move from a bank-owned, cooperative pricing model…

Read More

Nov 24, 2015

Why are the PE firms Winning? In a word, Patience.

In the News 0 Comments

Last week we discussed the fact that how more and more often we see PE firms winning auctions – buying companies that once we would have expected to see go to strategic buyers. You can see the post here. Now let’s talk about one of the big reasons WHY. Sure PE firms have raised tons of money that they can spend on buying businesses. Sure ample financing is available for these transactions, at low interest rates. Sure PE firms are really in the full time M&A business and may be willing to take more risk. One reason that few talk…

Read More

Nov 20, 2015

The Square IPO, Unicorns and Vanity Pricing

In the News, Valuation 0 Comments

So the Square IPO priced “below the last round.” That’s what the news media reported. In fact, one media story was headlined “Square Flops.” So was yesterday really a bad day for Square? Nope. It was a very very good day – for everyone involved, and much of the news media missed it. The Square IPO was good for the company because they were able to raise $243 million of much needed cash to keep growing; it was a good thing for employees because the IPO made their shares and stock options liquid (once their lock-up expires); it was a…

Read More

Nov 17, 2015

Are PE Buyers gaining on Strategics? Recent data says, yes.

In the News 0 Comments

For close to 20 years in M&A, I’ve heard the conventional wisdom that strategic buyers pay more than financial buyers. The logic of the synergies mantra has always seemed to make sense. In theory, strategic buyers can find concrete cost synergies (and also some revenue synergies) to justify paying a higher price. As an advisor on sell-side M&A transactions, I often hear clients, colleagues and prospects repeat this mantra in our go-to-market strategy sessions. Here’s the thing, over the last couple of years I’ve seen more than a few instances where PE players have done transactions in which the conventional…

Read More

Back to Top