Late last month, Twitter CFO Anthony Noto accidentally sent a public tweet that was apparently supposed to be a private message about an M&A deal—“I still think we should buy him. He is on your schedule for Dec 15 or 16 -- we will need to sell him. i have a plan[sic]”
So someone out there is being courted by Twitter, and just received a very nice piece of news. Congratulations! What’s next? Here’s some advice, drawn from Corum’s long experience with technology deals:
- Don’t talk only to Twitter. It’s going to be tempting—you know they want you, they’re trying to sell you on the concept, and it would be very easy to just get a deal worked out between you. But Noto and everyone else involved owe it to their shareholders to give up as little as possible—and you have your own obligations. You need leverage beyond just standing pat—you need other bidders, or at least the credible threat of other bidders.
- Don’t go in alone. Bring on an intermediary who can provide that credible threat by their very presence, because they can bring the reality of other bidders to the table. They can also take on the unpleasant parts of negotiations, leaving your relationship with those who could potentially be your future bosses intact. There are many more benefits to an intermediary, but those are a good start.
- Don’t overplay your hand. You know they want you, which is great news. But while you want to get the best deal, you can’t afford to become arrogant or greedy. It would be easy to do in your position, but be aware that deals much farther along than yours have been torpedoed by a suddenly-swelling ego. In fact, it’s one of the top deal killers.
- Do make use of your leverage. That said, you do have some leverage that you didn’t have before, and you should make careful use of it. Instead of going to meet Twitter on the 15th or 16th, perhaps they should come to you? That would be a small way to tilt the playing field more in your favor, without pushing directly on the fundamentals of the deal.
Good luck!