Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) is one of the largest accounting-multiservice firms in the world. They produce business-oriented research that can be (sometimes) interesting. PwC has teamed up with CB Insights to track VC investing in the USA. The result: Most of the investment in the USA is in only a handful of states. It’s interesting to note that the PwC results vary somewhat from what is reported by the Hyde Park Angels, that I wrote about earlier.  Differences are to be expected I suppose due to methodologies, completeness of the report etc. Though the general trends are the same. According…

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    From what we are seeing from our clients and research sources plus hearing about in the marketplace, here are some trends in the private equity industry now (mid-year 2018)       The two most important factors in Private Equity activity is economic strength and so-called “dry powder” levels. When people have money to invest and the economy is good, activity is high.  That seems to be the case in 2018. Most Private Equity Groups (PEGs) expect to see more equity in 2018 transactions (less leverage) than from earlier years. For debt, favorable terms (covenant-lite) is the most…

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Alteris LLC and its affiliates have valued and tracked IP values over the years for purposes of M&A, financial reporting and litigation support. Intellectual Property (IP)  is often one of the most valuable assets that a company can possess.  The importance of IP assets to individual companies has grown tremendously over the last decades. Traditionally, royalty payment agreements are usually expressed as a percent of sales.  Gross or net with net being the most common.  This is because of simplicity.  If profit based agreements are used complications can arise from other factors. In recent years, alternate forms of royalty payment…

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America is a leading country in supplying  energy to itself and the rest of the world. It also is one of the world’s largest energy consumers. Demand for energy is growing the USA, and will do so into the foreseeable future. But industry participants need to be sensitive to industry and economic cycles – this is a cyclical industry and is recession sensitive. USA businesses supply renewable energy, oil & gas, nuclear energy and is a leader in related technologies.   USA firms provide distribution services and storage of energy. America is a world leader in technology innovation in energy.  Emerging…

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Initial Coin Offerings or ICOs are hyped as a new way many early stage companies try to raise capital. An ICO sounds like the well-known term Initial Public Offering but it does not operate the same way.  An ICO offers ownership of a crypto currency issued by a company.  Not equity in a company.  This crypto currency often just gives the right to purchase a product or service that will be offered at some undetermined future time. The use of ICOs has gone ballistic.  In 2017 there were $5.5 billion in ICOs purchased by investors.  In 2016 that amount was…

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