Corum's success as a tech M&A advisor ‒ helping sell the most technology companies in history and obtaining an optimal M&A outcome for tech company CEOs and founders ‒ is built on four rock-solid pillars: education, database, process, and teams. Understanding these pillars gives insight into why the company has been so successful.

Education

Early on, Corum recognized that there was almost no attempt to prepare tech company leaders for selling their company. For instance, there wasn't much in the way of coaching tech company sellers on how to present to prospective buyers in an effective way, how to navigate through due diligence, do valuations, or prepare for contract negotiation. To address that lack, Corum instituted an education program for tech company sellers. That program has grown into the most extensive set of education offerings for owners and executives of tech companies.

Corum hosts over 300 of these educational events every year in over 100 cities and 50 countries. These offerings include:

  • Merge Briefing: A 90-minute executive briefing that provides an industry update, including current market trends and an overview of the process to sell a tech company successfully.
  • Selling Up Selling Out: A definitive M&A half-day bootcamp for executives, led by former CEOs who've gone through the M&A process themselves, presenting everything a tech company seller needs to know to achieve an optimal M&A outcome, including how to prepare, position, value, structure, negotiate, and survive due diligence.
  • Tech M&A Monthly Webcast. Monthly webcasts that examine the world of Tech M&A ‒ including special reports on buyers, markets, recent software/IT transactions and the M&A process.

In addition, Corum co-sponsors various events produced by World Financial Symposiums, a recognized leader in educating technology executives. These include:

  • Tech M&A Master Class. A two-day/two-night interactive workshop covering all the must-knows of M&A for Tech CEOs and founders. Sessions are led by a roster of tech CEOs who have bought and sold companies and have experience navigating the M&A process and knowledge of the best practices and effective tools to prepare for a successful M&A outcome.
  • Tech Exits. A podcast focused on sharing the stories of executives who have succeeded with a business exit.
  • Tech Market Spotlights. Weekly webcasts that keep tech company leaders up to date on the latest trends in the M&A market.

Not only do these educational sessions prepare tech company leaders for a successful M&A outcome, but they also offer an opportunity to share experiences and ideas with other participants, as illustrated by the following feedback from a recent attendee at one of these sessions:

“Excellent forum of M&A experts sharing their experiences, and very good networking with persons all over the world.”

Database

Finding the right buyers is a fundamental ingredient in successfully selling a tech company. Ideally, this means finding multiple buyers who can create an auction environment where their contending offers generate an optimal valuation for the seller. Corum recognized that knowledge about buyers and what they look for in acquiring tech companies was a big unknown. So, they decided to invest heavily in building what today is the world's largest database of information about buyers, with over 11 million entries gathered over decades. Starting with the knowledge it gathered from attendees at its initial educational sessions, Corum has continually added information to the database from multiple sources: its engagements with clients and prospective buyers, investigation and analysis from its worldwide team of researchers, and through a wide variety of third-party databases. The benefit to sellers is enormous. With the knowledge provided by this unparalleled database, Corum's dealmakers can identify prospective buyers across the globe ‒ both financial and strategic ‒ even buyers in sectors different from those of the sellers. For example, Corum client Digital Extremes, a Canadian video game developer, was acquired by Chinese company Leyou, which started life as Sumpo Food Holdings Limited, a poultry processor. With its purchase of Digital Extreme, Sumpo reinvented itself as a video game holding company and renamed Leyou Technologies Holdings Limited. Finding buyers like this ‒ here a buyer that was not even a tech company ‒ requires insights that only a comprehensive buyer knowledge base, such as Corum’s, can provide.

Process

When asked what helped them most in reaching a successful M&A outcome, Corum clients often point to Corum's process. That process, which Corum calls "The Eight Stages for an Optimal Outcome," is a detailed multi-step approach designed to find the right prospective buyers through an exhaustive global search, prepare sellers to engage with buyers, get sellers through the rigors of due diligence, and create an auction environment where competitive bids from multiple buyers lead to an optimal outcome for the seller.

That process has resulted in more software and related technology companies sold than any other process in history. It's also a learning experience for sellers. A Corum client put it this way:

"I've never sold a company before, and after building a relationship with Corum, I was able to see firsthand how millions in extra value can be created with the right knowledge and process."

Teams

Tech company sellers come to Corum because they recognize Corum's success. But that success is fostered by a team with the expertise and experience to assist tech company sellers in reaching their goals. Every engagement that Corum has with a client involves a team of specialists:

  • Researchers who gather, investigate, and analyze information about tech sectors, buyers, and M&A trends.
  • Writers who develop important documents for sellers such as an Executive Summary that highlights the selling company's value to prospective buyers.
  • Dealmakers who are former tech CEOs that have built and sold their own tech companies and often acquired tech companies.

Each Corum account includes two dealmakers, one as the lead and the other as the backup. In this way, they can assist clients no matter the time of day. Not only does Corum's team of dealmakers have a wealth of know-how regarding M&A, but they also have experience in an extremely wide range of tech sectors, from Artificial Intelligence (AI) and HealthTech- to Security and Web Development. They are also based in countries across the globe and have intimate knowledge of the business environment and M&A market in their geographies.

As a whole, Corum's team provides the skills, expertise, and experience to make a difference for their clients. Corum's track record as the most successful seller of tech companies in history is proof of that.