(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — In the fourth business development – legal/regulatory track session of day two at HostingCon 2010, a distinguished panel collectively discussed the procedure of acquiring acquisitions in “Practical Acquisitions Advice: Process, Pricing, and Trends”.
The panel was comprised of Cheval Capital’s Hilary Stiff, Hostopia’s Colin Campbell, Layered Technologies’ Michael Platner, Endurance International Group’s Joe Bardennheier, and U2K Group’s Ditlev Bredahl.
The presentation served as a great introduction for hosting providers that are contemplating on selling their business or acquiring another Web host.
The five panelists recounted past experiences working on different acquistion and merger deals, offering practical advice on how attendees can successfully buy or sell a business.
Platner noted that if the Web host’s business is growing then it will get paid more for the company, and if its business is declining then it will get paid less for the company.
Campbell stressed the importance of establishing trust between the buyer and the seller, and how it will ultimately determine whether or not the two companies will actually go through with the deal.
Stiff echoed this sentiment by stating that when the buyer trusts the seller, it will make the deal more seamless and easier to complete.
Towards the end of the discussion, Platner recalled that he has never heard of any company saying that they regret selling at the time they did, but many companies have told him that they regret not selling their business at the time when they could.
