I work with clients on technology valuation, broadly described as “dealmaking”, primarily through licensing or merger & acquisition. Since 1998, I have been retained on more than 200 technology valuation, dealmaking, and/or opportunity discovery assignments.
Beginning in 1998 I worked as a consultant, VP, and later Senior Advisor) originally IPC Group, which later became InteCap, and still later was acquired by Charles River Associates, Inc (CRAI). I continued as an employee of CRAI until July 2018. Since then I consult for CRAI and work independently.
The two acronyms I used to describe my work are DVD and TRADE:
Technology and Licensing
Technology and licensing is composed of the three aspects I call D-V-D:
Opportunity Discovery: identifying technologies worth pursuing, and prioritizing such opportunities based upon investment and timing in light of potential reward and risk.
Valuation: establishing an optimum scope and configuration of a particular discovered opportunity, identifying a framework for consideration to be paid, and developing a financial model for what the package is worth.
Dealmaking: reaching agreement between a willing seller and willing buyer usually in some kind of technology license agreement.
Dealmaking
Dealmaking itself involves five components I describe with the acronym TR R A DE, playing on that most-ancient business process of trade.
TR: the Technology Rights that are the subject of the transaction.
R: the Risk associated with the uncertainty of ultimate outcomes.
A: the Art of deal creation.
DE the Deal Economics (or Equity), which is the compensation for the trade rights, in consideration of the risk.
Click here to access more information on TR R A D E.