Select Transactions
These are a few of the exits where I have permission to publish the details.
Allegretto Publishing Ltd.
Allegretto Publishing Ltd. owned the very successful Unique Article Wizard (UAW) - the world's leading software-as-a-service article marketing system. In late 2009, the company also introduced a very successful companion article writing service, MyArticleExpress (MAX).
Allegretto was a virtual company, based in BC and Alberta, co-founded in 2007 by Dr. Noel Swanson and Darren Warmuth. The company was bootstrapped, and their families and employees were the only shareholders.
The company was successfully sold to an undisclosed US investor.
"...Throughout the whole process Basil kept things moving and maintained a very positive and reassuring attitude. He was on the ball, available at all sorts of odd times and days, and fully involved with the process at all times. Next time I do an exit, Basil will definitely be the man." -Noel Swanson, former Owner
Confidential Early Exit
Unfortunately, this early exit is covered a non-disclosure agreement. It is a classic example of the type of M&A transaction that I write about in my book Early Exits.
The company was not only pre-revenue, it was less than twelve months old.
The CEO pitched a large, public US company on a paper design for their product. His goal was to see if they would order some if he could deliver a prototype.
A few months later, they started to ask about acquiring the company. The CEO contacted me, and three months later, the deal was closed. A little more information is included in the CEO’s testimonial.
"I can conclusively say that Basil’s contribution increased our ability to complete the transaction." -Anonymous CEO
Internet Marketing Center
The Internet Marketing Center, founded in 1996, provides information, training and coaching for online businesses. The company was entirely owned by a private equity fund in California.
There were several bidders in Canada and the US. The successful acquirers were two well known, successful internet entrepreneurs Dr. Noel Swanson and Darren Warmuth.
"Leading the Internet Marketing Center was an extraordinary challenge...The most important value Basil added was helping me drive an exit process and transaction that faced many complex hurdles...[he] was always there to drive the momentum of the deal." -Andy Morden, Past IMC CEO
Meridex Software Corporation
This public, BC based software company wanted to sell one of its business units. The business provided wireless mobile access to a large software application for facilities management.
The successful acquirer was a company in Silicon Valley.
"Basil Peters never gives up...It looked like an easy sale at the beginning, but there were several unexpected challenges that threatened to kill the transaction along the way. Basil’s brilliant strategies and negotiating skills managed to break through each obstacle." -Darren Nicholls, Meridex CEO
Parasun Technologies
At Parasun’s second strategic planning retreat in September of 2005 the board and management agreed that the exit strategy was to sell the company for more than $10 million by late 2006 or early 2007.
The LOI was signed early in 2007, but the price was $14.8 million.
"Basil...drove the Board and management politely but relentlessly to maximize the value and attractiveness of the company." -Barry Carlson, Parasun past CEO and Chairman
Part 4 of this video describes why the Parasun exit completed on schedule but for 50% more than the goal.
The Sunaptic Sale
The acquisition of Sunaptic by Visiphor is another good example of how multiple bidders can increase the final price by 50% or more.
"[Basil] then worked tirelessly to ensure that the entire process went smoothly for both parties, brokering discussions, suggesting solutions to impasses, and generally supporting the process."
-Mike Hilton, President of Sunaptic
The PCS Wireless Exit Transaction
Occasionally an exit goes much better than anyone dared to hope...the PCS Wireless exit worked out exceptionally well for some of the participants even after the company looked like it wasn’t going to be a success.
"Your strategy worked so well that the companies merged and on the back of the Broadband Network sale, our stock went up over 400%."
-Ralph G. Scobie, CEO of PCS Wireless
Nexus Engineering
I founded Nexus while I was still in grad school. It grew to be the second largest manufacturer of cable TV headend equipment in the world. Today, it's part of Cisco.
It was my first company and I learned everything about running a company on the job. Unfortunately, I made the classic mistake of thinking that I could also learn fast enough to execute the exit myself. The exit closed, but only because we were lucky - several times.
Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this video describe all of the things I did wrong in my very first exit and the first time I lost several million dollars. Part 4 contrasts the Nexus exit with the Parasun case where everything proceeded according to a well developed plan.