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FROM THE EDITOR
“They were unable to agree on
valuations. Each was convinced Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine
that their business was worth APRIL 2009
more than the other”
Editorial, Sales, Circulation and Finance
Vitesse Media Plc, Octavia House,
50 Banner Street, London EC1Y 8ST
020 7250 7010
N
on-cash mergers are a bit like perfect marriages, much desired but rarely
Editor Patrizia Rossi 020 7250 7066
achieved. And working hard at a relationship and trying to understand
Managing Editor Marc Barber 020 7250 7020
the other person’s point of view are no guarantee that things will work
Editor-in-Chief Leslie Copeland 020 7250 7014
out in the end.
Journalists Nick Britton, Leslie Copeland, James Crux,
Oliver Haill, James Harris
Larger-than-life founder and managing partner of private equity house Alchemy
Head of Research Oliver Haill 020 7250 7022
Partners Jon Moulton told me that he tried to close a non-cash merger recently – a
Head of Production & Design Neill Purvis 020 7250 7018
bolt-on deal for one of his IT portfolio companies, but the marriage wasn’t to be.
Senior Designer Sarah Barnett
Designers Julian Ellis, Minh McCormack
“We couldn’t get anywhere near it,” he admitted.
Group Sub-editor Alan Dobie
There are a number of AIM technology stocks that would benefit from merging
Sub-editor Emily Adenipekun
in terms of development, economies of scale and sales, according to Moulton.
Circulation & Subscriptions Charlotte Randall 020 7250 7056
However, his deal fell through because the parties were unable to agree on
Group Sales Manager Martyn Black 020 7250 7037
Sales Executives Joshika Begum 020 7250 7061
valuations. Each was convinced that their business was worth more than the other.
Jordan Lee 020 7250 7958
It’s no secret that non-cash mergers are incredibly tough to pull off. Firstly, no
Reprints Liz Robinson 020 7501 1071 vitesse@rl-centre.com
one can agree on valuations as vendors are looking for EBITDA multiples that
Online Sales Manager Rebecca Borrows 020 7250 7028
have long since gone. Secondly, there’s the question of egos, or the “emperor
Online Sales Executive Matthew Salandy 020 7250 7034
problem” – there can only be one “emperor” in the new entity as the other is
Events Manager Jenna Parker 020 7250 7043
inevitably heading for the door.
Needless to say, the liquidity crisis has caused the number of non-cash mergers
Vitesse Media Plc
to rise. In the first three months of the year, there were eight non-cash mergers
Chief Executive Officer Sara Williams 020 7250 7010
Chief Operating Officer Leslie Copeland 020 7250 7010
involving UK companies totalling £458 million, compared with five worth £72
Finance Director Kym Kingwill 020 7250 7010
million last year. But the figures show that it’s still a minority sport compared
Managing Director (Business)
Niki Baker 020 7250 7042
with the 60 cash/non-cash transactions worth a total of £12.3 billion that closed
Deputy Managing Directors (Business)
during the same period.
Marc Barber 020 7250 7020
Jonathan Sumner 020 7250 7032
Some marriages are made in heaven, as we saw earlier this year with the rather
Deputy Managing Directors (Investment)
apposite merger of French internet dating service Meetic and the European
Darren Griffin 020 7250 7049
Keiron Root 020 7250 7026
operations of Match.com in a non-cash deal worth £78 million in shares and
Commercial Director Michael Beech 020 7250 7953
promissory notes.
Account Director (Information Age) Katrina Neal 020 7250 7950
Group Sales Manager (Events) Ben Brougham 020 7250 7051
I ask Moulton what he believes is the secret of getting a non-cash merger done.
Sales Manager (Business XL) Fraser Owen 020 7250 7033
His answer: “Cash – it’s much more compelling.”
Sales Executives Will Dobson (Information Age) 020 7250 7952
John Bromley (Information Age) 020 7250 7954
Hollie Gould (Investment) 020 7250 7045
Hiramoni Sarma (Investment) 020 7250 7031
Mike McKenzie (Events) 020 7250 7029
Online Sales Support Mohammed Jiwa 020 7250 7030
Brand Marketing Manager Elena Weisenburger 020 7250 7040
Marketing Executive Halid Delkic 020 7250 7039
PATRIZIA ROSSI
Subscriptions (Information Age) Calvin Green 020 7250 7056
patrizia.rossi@vitessemedia.co.uk
Database Administrator Nicholas Bhoopongsa 020 7250 7050
Financial Controller Cathy Humphrey 020 7250 7010
Group Credit Controller Maria Eyre 020 7250 7053
Accounts/Admin Assistant Kay Porter 020 7250 7046
All rights reserved. No part of Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
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transmitted in any other form, or by any other means, electronic, mechanical, photographic, recording or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publishers. The contents of Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine are subject
to reproduction in information storage and retrieval systems.
Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material published in Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine. However, the
publishers cannot accept responsibility for claims made by manufacturers, advertisers or contributors. The views
expressed are not necessarily those of the editor or the publishers. Although all reasonable care is taken of all material,
photographs and transparencies submitted, the publishers cannot accept any responsibility for damage or loss.
The articles and company profiles in Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine are intended only as general information
and should not be used as the basis for investment decisions. Readers considering any specific investment should
Vitesse Media Plc is a member of the
Periodical Publishers Association
always obtain professional, independent advice. M&A Deals and its staff do not accept liability for any loss suffered
by readers as the result of any such investment decision.
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