Conversations with Thought Leaders from the M&A Community

Phil Leigh - Trends in Online Technology are Shifting Company Values

Posted by John Slater on December 16, 2007

 
 Phil Leigh - Trends in Online Technology are Shifting Company Values: Play Now | Play in Popup

Phil LeighM&A doesn’t exist in a vacuum.  Companies succeed and fail and fortunes are made and lost based on how well their leaders pick the waves.  Choose right and you ride the pipeline all the way to the beach; choose wrong and they’re picking up the pieces off the rocks.  Acquirers must be aware of the larger trends taking place in the industries in which they invest and elsewhere in the economy that can impact the fortunes of their portfolio companies and equally important the market’s perception of their value.

Phil Leigh is one of the most insightful observers of an industry that is radically transforming the ways we work and play.  Phil’s initial training was in electrical engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology and he subsequently received an MBA from the Kellogg School.  As a respected securities analyst with First Boston and Raymond James in the 1990’s, Phil was one of the first analysts to focus on the then emerging world of the Internet.  He chronicled its growth from an obscure technology to one of the prime drivers of an increasingly globalized economy; he witnessed firsthand the Bubble and the rubble that followed. 

In 1998 Phil began to conduct online interviews of industry leaders via the nascent medium of Internet Radio.  Over time these efforts migrated into a full time endeavor called Inside Digital Media (www.insidedigitalmedia.com).  Several times a week Phil interviews leading companies in and observers of the Digital Media Industry, covering all aspects of Internet based entertainment and communication and the technologies that support them.

The rise of Web 2.0 - the migration of applications, processing and data storage from the desktop and local network to the Internet - has led Phil to conclude that we are now in another period of major realignment within the technology industry.  As with the transformations that occurred when computing moved from mainframes to desktop PC’s and when the rise of the Internet connected all of us to the worldwide digital communications web, there will be big winners and big losers this time as well. 

Phil has developed a very compelling theory that the winners in this era will center on several emerging Web 2.0 platforms.  He focuses on Facebook, SalesForce.com’s Force.com development platform and Webex’s Media Tone network, but is quick to say that the jury is still out - some of these may falter and other platforms will almost certainly be developed, with Google and Microsoft likely candidates to try.  All of this is outlined in much more detail in Phil’s article, Gravitation Attraction in the Internet Cloud, which can be downloaded by clicking here.

Length: This interview is about 25 minutes.

Stephen Frey - Noted Author and Private Equity Dealmaker

Posted by John Slater on November 30, 2007

 
 Steve Frey - Noted Author and Private Equity Dealmaker: Play Now | Play in Popup

Steve Frey If you spend much time frequenting airport bookshops (and if you’re reading this you probably do) you’re familiar withThe Vulture Fund Steve Frey, who pioneered the “financial thriller” and is still the leading author in that genre.  With such titles as The Vulture Fund, Shadow Account and The Chairman, Steve shares with us a world of intrigue and adventure in the world of high finance that we can only dream about in our everyday world.  This year SteveShadow Account has been particularly prolific with two new titles, The Successor, which carries forward the saga of fictional private equity titan, Christian Gillette, Chairman of Everest Capital, and The Fourth Order, which introduces Steve’s financial universe to a different kind of intrigue and danger in the clandestine world of Washington, DC.The Chairman

In this interview Steve tells us how he transcended the sometimes mundane world of investment banking to become a world renowned author.  He also shares with us insight into his “day job” as a Managing Director of the private equity firm, Albion Investors of New York City and The Fourth OrderRichmond, VA.  Albion focuses on what Steve describes as “MicroCap” deals, which I frequently describe as “people sized companies”.  As an experienced dealmaker Steve shares his advice for business owners who are considering the sale of their businesses.The Successor

Steve is a Wahoo, having graduated from my alma mater, the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, with both an undergraduate degree and an MBA from the Darden School.

Click Here to purchase books by Steve Frey on Amazon.

 Length: This interview is about 22 minutes.

Welcome to Mergers.com DealCast

Posted by John Slater on September 11, 2007

 
 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup

Phil LeighIn this interview, I’m interviewed by Phil Leigh of Inside Digital Media about my plans for Mergers.com. We discuss a number of points including my educational background and experience, which encompasses thirty years of focus on corporate finance for middle market companies. We address the process of finding buyers for companies that want to sell, as well as other exit strategies. Phil also questions me about the podcasts that I’ll be doing here with thought leaders in the M & A field, including Private Equity investors, lawyers, accountants, and various intermediaries. Click on the Play button above to hear the 22 minute interview.