Posts by Hagen Rogers

The We Company has received a lot of press coverage in recent months after a failed IPO shocked many in business and financial markets. Last week’s announced acquisition of The We Company by SoftBank prompts the question, “Is SoftBank shrewd or a sucker?” SoftBank Group, headquartered in Tokyo, operates 6 business segments: telecommunications in Japan,…

Frequently, I hear comments from the business community like “John wants to sell the company, but I can’t convince him to meet with an M&A advisor about it.” Meanwhile from the M&A deal community I might hear after a transaction closes, “buyer demanded concessions as a result of their due diligence findings. It was stressful…

We’ve compiled six months of data on the top recent M&A transactions in the Southeast and in the US. Table of Contents Southeast Transactions Major US Transactions Major Canceled Transactions About Watermark Advisors Southeast Transactions M&A Closed Date Buyers/Investors Primary Industry [Buyers/Investors] Geographic Locations [Buyers/Investors] Target/Issuer Short Business Description [Target/Issuer] Total Transaction Value ($USDmm, Historical…

Every M&A client has a unique story. Watermark’s most recent M&A client, kVA, had a fascinating one. On June 3rd, Underwriters Laboratories, also known as UL, announced that it had acquired kVA. This announcement ended one stage in the life of kVA as it turned the page and started a new one. kVA was formed…

Unfortunately, one downside of M&A advisory success fees is that while it ensures that the transaction advisor gets paid “fairly,” the acquirer does not necessarily benefit proportionately. The matter not taken into consideration is that acquirers often struggle to capture a return on investment from acquisition transactions above a hurdle rate. Numerous studies have analyzed…

We’ve compiled six months of data on the top recent M&A transactions in the Southeast and in the US. For the first time, we’ve also including data on major canceled M&A transactions. Table of Contents Southeast Transactions Major US Transactions Major Canceled Transactions About Watermark Advisors Southeast Transactions M&A Closed Date Buyers/Investors Primary Industry [Buyers/Investors]…

When a business owner desires to sell a company for top dollar, (s)he needs to understand the importance of having future growth plans for the business. One factor that can boost growth is if the business operates in a high growth industry where the compound annual growth rate (“CAGR”) is 10% or more. Examples of…

Companies seeking to succeed at making profitable acquisitions need to plan for the reality that while most deals take less than a year to transact, becoming deal ready takes years. Companies that are well prepared will have a much higher success record and achieve better return on investment. Whether you have plans to acquire a…

Earlier this year, The National Center for the Middle Market at Ohio State published a report titled “Middle-Market M&A – What Executives and Advisors Need to Know in Order to Make the Most of Mergers and Acquisitions.” Participants in the study included 400 executives of middle market companies (with annual revenues from $10MM – $1Bn)…