David Braun
Author's posts
M&A in European Telecoms: Go Big or Cash Out
Vodafone’s cash buyout of Kabel Deutschland for 7.7 billion Euros has the European telecom M&A scene heating up. AT&T, for one, is rumored to be eyeing Europe for suitable acquisitions ─ perhaps even Telefonica, Spain’s leading multinational. In the past, such deals would have been considered one-off acquisitions reserved for large corporations with the power …
Why a Letter of Intent Should be Strategic
by John Dearing, Capstone Managing Director I recently read an article that listed some standard items, such as type of transaction, employment, transaction contingencies and conditions, to include in a LOI. While I don’t disagree with this “standard” list, I would prefer that the LOI address the strategic intent of the two parties. The LOI …
Why You Should Be Wary When Discussing EBITDA In M&A
* Guest post by John Dearing, Capstone Managing Director Just last week during a valuation discussion, I noted to the Board to be wary of EBITDA multiple discussions in the world of M&A. As an article from PE Hub points out, when you ask five different professionals to calculate a company’s EBITDA, you’ll come up with …
Why Expand Internationally?
* Guest post by Paul Marin, Research Analyst at Capstone Did you know twenty of the fastest growing economies are in Africa or Asia? William Blair reports in the first quarter of 2013, the Americas invested $7.0 billion in Asia-Pacific in cross-border transactions, a 4.6% increase from 2012. This means many of the opportunities for growth …
“Go-Shop Clause”
Edelman Financial Group agreed to sell their business for $258 million which is reported to be a 43% premium over their stock price. The interesting thing is the agreement includes a 40 day “go-shop clause” where the company can seek higher bids. I have been talking about these provisions for several years and expect you’ll …
Monkey See, Monkey Do
While visiting my brother’s family and partaking in a delicious cupcake during my niece’s one year milestone birthday celebration, I had a valuation thought…she was doing what most kids at that age do: copying the older kids’ movements. Waving, smiling, stuffing cake in her face and, of course, throwing everything. Adults, some very experienced, tend …
Why is Fortis Acquiring CH Energy?
Fortis, Inc (TSX: FTS), a Canadian utility company, announced yesterday that it is acquiring CH Energy Group (NYSE: CHG) for $1B in cash plus the assumption of $500K in debt, which is about 10x 2011 EBITDA. CH Energy, which is a public utility headquartered in Poughkeepsie, NY, said this about the benefits of the acquisition: …
