Harvesting Intangible Assests - Webinar Recap

May 24, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

We recently held a webinar titled, "Harvesting Intangible Assets" with Andrew J. Sherman, author and Partner at Jones Day. Using a Rembrandt painting as an example, Sherman outlined how companies can be oblivious to the wealth of revenue-producing opportunities hiding in their own attic. 

Andrew shared his insights and expertise gleaned from his work with some of the world's leading companies who have capitalized on intellectual assets such as patents, trademarks, customer information, software codes, databases, business models, home-grown processes, and employee expertise. Featuring instructive examples from his book of the same name, on how companies large or small can implement IP-driven growth and licensing strategies, foster a culture of innovation, turn R&D into revenue, and much more.

Generic vs. Specialized Document Sharing in the Cloud

May 9, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

There has been a lot of buzz around the new entrant into the cloud-based document sharing space with the recent announcement of Google Drive. But not all cloud-based document sharing is the same. Specialized document sharing solutions address a fundamentally different set of business problems than a generic document sharing solution does.  So where do generic document sharing solutions end and specialized document sharing solutions begin?

Firmex Virtual Data Room systems for Electronic Submissions to the FDA

Mar 28, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

The FDA has provided guidelines for electronic submissions as set out in Title 21 CFR Part 11. The guidelines include a set of definitions and required controls but the FDA is not structured or funded to provide certification of applications or vendors. As such, certification on Title 21 CFR Part 11 currently doesn’t exist. Individual companies must bear the responsibility to evaluate whether systems have controls that meet the guidelines for a closed system.

Canada Outpacing U.S. M&A Deal Market at Start of 2012

Mar 26, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

In our 2012 M&A market outlook we predicted a positive recovery for M&A, based largely on 2H 2011 deal flow. Much of this activity is currently being generated in Canada, while the rest of the market seems to be slowing.

International Competitiveness in M&A - Webinar Recap

Mar 21, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

Today we enjoyed an in-depth discussion of International Competitiveness in M&A with Ken Smith, author of the new book, The Art of M&A Strategy and Associate Dean of Executive Education at the University of Guelph. His insights into how competitive Canada and the U.S. are in cross border deals was revealing.

Ken also answered questions regarding the attractiveness of North American companies to Europe and shared his thoughts on how North American companies can begin to be more competitive in cross broder M&A.

U.S. Energy Department to Promote Benefits of Tax Equity Partnerships

Mar 14, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

Seen as a surprising step, representatives of the U.S. Energy Department are hosting a meeting with large U.S. Corporations to promote the benefits of renewable energy investments in a bid to boost funding options for the industry. This move comes on the heels of the completion of a government stimulus program that expired December 31, 2011.

Companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Walt Disney Co will have Steven Chu, Energy Secretary, promoting the benefits of renewable energy investments, specifically the tax-equity markets. The meeting, set for March 13th, is an attempt to reinvigorate a slowing tax equity market.

Read More

Private Equity Firms Should Prepare as Exit Activity on the Rise

Mar 12, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

Exits were strong in 2011, and this trend should carry forward in 2012 with exits expected to achieve near highs of the past decade. According to Pitch Book and Grant Thornton’s 2012 PE Exit Activity Report, Private Equity ¬firms sold or took public, 213 U.S. companies during the second half of 2011 alone. This brought the 2011 exit count to 420 totaling $104 billion, only a slight difference from 2010 totals of 434 deals and $106 billion.  With Private Equity seeing a reduction in capital raises, they will need to exit businesses quickly to see a profit. With more firms actively looking to close exit opportunities, the competition for acquirers is on the rise.

Read More

Law Firms Need to Rethink How They Protect Confidential Digital Assets

Mar 5, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

A law firm in Virginia, one of the latest victims in a string of cyber attacks against U.S. based law firms, is picking up the pieces after hackers infiltrated the firm’s e-mail system and released emails containing confidential information related to a high-profile case. With a clear message that law firms are a prime target for security attacks through their email systems, they need to rethink how they are storing and exchanging their most confidential digital assets.

According to a report at law.com, email is a common way to infiltrate a firm’s systems. Using a method called "spear phishing," an email that contains a link or attachment, arrives from someone who appears to be a trusted source. When opened the hacker has instant access to the recipient's computer and/or internal network. The same report noted that intrusions backed by state entities are increasing because information related to mergers and acquisitions is of great interest to state-sponsored agents.

The Canada-US Regulatory Cooperation Council - Webinar Recap

Feb 29, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

Today we enjoyed an in-depth discussion of The Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) with Emily Larose, partner in the advocacy group at Cassels Brock. Her insights into how the RCC and the Border Action plan are impacting cross-border business in agriculture and food, transportation and pharmaceuticals were invaluable.

Emily spoke to the potential advantages of more standardized compliance requirements between Canada and the U.S., including streamlined production at a lower cost, streamlined transportation of goods and reduction in compliance issues.

The Cloud Will Drive Technology Mergers and Acquisitions in 2012

Feb 28, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

According to Bloomberg, 2011 M&A deal volume in the technology industry surpassed $200 billion. Technology deals saw a gain of 36 percent outpacing an advance of about 4 percent for all M&A worldwide. Indicators suggest industry takeovers in 2012 could surpass the recent 2007 high. In 2007 takeovers reached $264.4 billion, the biggest year since 2000’s record high of $585.2 billion.

Consumers and workers alike are becoming increasingly mobile and cloud-based service providers are looking to extend cloud access from desktop and laptops to mobile devices and tablets. Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, Apple, Google and HP are looking for deals that will provide increased storage, analytics and security for enterprise in the cloud.