The Evolution of IP Driven M&A

Today’s IP Driven M&A seminar has kicked off live from San Francisco! The day’s first panel was entitled, “The Evolution of IP Driven M&A”, and featured Chairperson Ron Laurie, Jose A. Esteves, Mark F. Radcliffe, and Kira Kimhi. The panelists discussed the differences between tech patents and life science patents in regards to the roles they play in mergers and acquisitions. They also shared their experiences in the changing patent system and the emergence of strong non-practicing entities.

Here are some of the highlights:

*There are more acquisitions when dealing with life science patents because companies that are built on life science patents can’t really be separated from their patents.  What then happens is that when a buyer looks to purchase the life science patent, they often acquire the entire company as a whole. With life science patents, there is a separation between the patent and the ultimate product, but not really between the patent and the company. Hence, the frequency of acquisitions over mergers. (more…)

03.6.12 | posts | Mark Dighton

Don’t Miss Next Week’s “IP-Driven M&A: The Revolution Has Arrived”

Join us next week for the PLI seminar, IP-Driven M&A: The Revolution Has Arrived, as we will be live blogging from select patent driven panels. There is also a live webcast from the seminar in case you won’t be in the San Francisco area.

In the world of high-tech M&A, patent analysis has historically been relegated to the later “due diligence” stages of an M&A transaction and the focus has been primarily if not exclusively on patent risk factors (e.g., the target’s exposure to third party infringement claims or the potential loss of a critical inbound license).  Except in rare cases, the strategic value of the target’s patent portfolio has not been a factor in sourcing or pricing the deal.  Now all that has changed and strategic patent value has been a driving force in some very significant recent M&A transactions.

The all-star faculty examines the reasons for the change, the ways in which such IP-driven M&A transactions are being structured and valued, and predictions about the expansion – or collapse – of this new market. Learn from the best. The faculty includes current and former corporate IP counsel from Apple, Cisco, Google, Kodak, Intel, JDSU, Nortel and Yahoo, as well as veteran Silicon Valley outside counsel, seasoned investment bankers, and valuation specialists.

03.2.12 | posts | Mark Dighton