Knowledge Centers

Fine-tuning Your Due Diligence Playbook

REPLAY
SLIDE SHOW: DueDiligenceFinal.ppt
Thursday, August 18, 2011
2 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PDT

With failed mergers ranging in number from 30% to at least 80% according to various studies, it's no wonder deal teams at acquisitive and target companies are demanding greater due diligence. The process has become part science and part art, but the goal has remained the same: minimize risk and create value for buyers and sellers.

Join The Deal senior editor Mary Kathleen Flynn for our webcast "Fine-tuning Your Due Diligence Playbook" as our host examines how companies' due diligence processes are evolving and how these techniques are impacting the flow of M&A. We'll also examine some recent failed and successful mergers that were impacted by the due diligence process.

After listening to just 60 minutes of our in-depth discussion with our editor and leading experts, you'll have a refreshed perspective on the key factors that will make the difference to your due diligence execution success and effectiveness in this uncertain economy.

MODERATOR:

Mary Kathleen Flynn
senior editor/video producer
The Deal LLC
@MKFlynn

Mary Kathleen Flynn anchors The Deal's online video show, while also covering technology deals, Web 2.0 entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Prior to The Deal, she was an on-air correspondent for CNN, CNNfn and MSNBC, where she was part of the network's launch team and made regular appearances on news programs of its sister networks, NBC and CNBC.

EXPERT PANELISTS:

Bob Profusek
partner
Jones Day

Bob Profusek is an adviser to substantial businesses, focusing on M&A/takeovers, restructurings, buyouts and corporate governance matters, including executive compensation. He chairs Jones Day's global M&A practice. Representative M&A transactions include: Abbott Laboratories in numerous transactions, including its acquisitions of Facet Biotech and Visiogen; Ernst & Young in various transactions, including the merger of its consulting business with Cap Gemini; numerous transactions for Wasserstein & Co., including its acquisitions of The American Lawyer, New York Law Journal and New York magazine; and numerous transactions for WL Ross & Co., including the acquisition and IPO of International Coal Group, the merger of International Steel Group and Mittal Steel, and its build-ups in automotive components, textiles and mortgage servicing.

Other companies with which Profusek has worked on substantial matters include Blackstone Group LP, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., Continental Airlines Inc., Walt Disney Co., Dole Foods Co., Goldman Sachs & Co., Harman International Industries Inc., Hewitt Associates and Hunt Petroleum Corp.


Deborah Farrington
founder & co-chairman
StarVest Partners LP

Deborah Farrington is a founder and general partner of StarVest Partners LP, a New York City-based venture capital firm founded in 1998. StarVest invests in technology-enabled business services companies with a focus on software as a service, e-commerce and Internet marketing. StarVest was an early investor in the SaaS trend: In 2000, it invested as the only venture firm in NetSuite Inc. whose December 2007 IPO was the highest market capitalization for a venture-backed company since Google Inc. Other noteworthy investments include MessageOne Inc., bought by Dell Inc.; Connected Corp., bought by Iron Mountain Inc.; iCrossing Inc.; and Insurance.com.

Prior to founding StarVest, Farrington was president and CEO of Victory Ventures LLC, a New York-based private equity investment firm where she also served as chairman of Staffing Resources Inc.; and managing director of Asian Oceanic Group, a Hong Kong-based merchant bank. Earlier in her career, she was an investment banker and securities analyst with Merrill Lynch & Co. based in New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo.


Steve Deedy
managing director and co-leader of enterprise improvement practice
AlixPartners LLP

Steve Deedy is a managing director responsible for the co-leadership of the Enterprise Improvement Practice. He works with client executives (including PE firms) to affect dramatic improvements in cost and performance for companies and PE-firm holdings. He also advises PE firms considering acquisitions, providing deep operational due diligence services and expertise.
 
Deedy has more than 27 years of hands-on experience in building and managing businesses. His expertise includes information technology, operations restructuring and improvement, strategic planning, business development, and revenue and profitability growth. In industry roles he has managed research and development, manufacturing, planning, procurement, warehousing/inventory control and IT organizations.
 
For PE clients, Deedy has worked with firms focused on a range of industries including, retail, consumer products, manufacturing, logistics/distribution, high tech, telecommunications, media, and utilities and infrastructure.
 
Deedy holds a bachelor's degree in industrial management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He also studied business administration at the Florida Institute of Technology's graduate business school. He holds certifications in production and inventory management as well as procurement/purchasing.


Pamela Ragon
senior vice president
Allegiance Capital Corp.
@middlemktdiva

Pamela Ragon is senior vice president for Allegiance Capital Corp., one of the largest private investment banks serving the U.S. middle market. She specializes in guiding small-business owners as well as corporations through the M&A process, and she has helped clients successfully navigate the due diligence process both pre- and post-recession. She is a frequent guest speaker and author on topics including M&A market trends, due diligence requirements, selling a family-owned business and careers for women in investment banking.

As a former CFO, Ragon has managed acquisitions and divestitures from the corporate side. She has also advised distressed companies through restructuring and liquidation. Ragon is a certified public accountant and a chartered financial analyst. She is a past president of the Dallas Turnaround Management Association, currently serves on the board of the Dallas Women's Foundation and is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth.