Many may have challenged whether this was the right time to sell a valuable tech company, but Peter and the EY teams took a bold view that, as many other deals were put on ice, they’d be one of the only deals in the market. As such, they expected to capture a disproportionate level of attention among the target investor group.
Lockdown measures globally meant that there could be no in-person meetings or presentations to potential bidders — a major obstacle surely. But EY teams used this to create impactful, innovative video materials that accelerated and simplified the bidding process. Instead of the usual round of face-to-face presentations with interested parties, EY teams worked with the CEO to create a slick recording of the company presentation, that incorporated answers to pre-submitted questions. Once created the same presentation could be shared multiple times. “While we believed in our approach, because this had never been done before, we couldn’t be sure that we could attract commitment from a buyer without actually meeting the CEO,” says Eric Sanschagrin, EY EMEIA Head of Technology Transaction Advisory.
Speed and energy were critical. EY teams’ ability to draw on the wider organization’s capabilities, with its complementary services, meant it could perform the widest range of due diligence (financial, tax, commercial, technology) for its client at an expedited pace. Each team was project-managed and integrated to reduce the burden on the founder.
In the end the successful bidder, Francisco Partners, only required seven days of confirmatory due diligence before they signed. This happened just four months after EY teams were hired by Consignor, on a valuation of over NOK1 billion which was equivalent to EBITDA and revenue multiples at the top end of the range for similar transactions completed prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Peter reinvested a significant portion of the sale proceeds alongside Francisco Partners. The world was still in lockdown when the deal was inked.
