SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SRS | Shareholder Representative Services, the global expert in professionally managing post-closing matters in private company mergers and acquisitions, today announced the completion of 200 M&A transactions comprising more than $20 billion in aggregate deal value.
SRS serves as the shareholder representative on approximately 34% of all venture-backed M&A transactions based on the official national venture industry Q2 2011 deal volume benchmark. The percentage of deals that use a professional shareholder representative has grown dramatically since SRS pioneered the role in 2007, and it has become standard practice, particularly for large, complex transactions.
“Years ago, venture capitalists used to take on the job of serving as a shareholder representative ourselves,” said Steven Simonian, CFO of August Capital. “Now most of us have determined that it is usually not a good use of our time. However, when hiring someone, we need to have confidence that they have the experience and knowledge to look after our interests.”
“Hitting the 200 deal mark shows that SRS continues to be the go-to resource for serving as the shareholder representative on M&A deals,” said Mark Vogel, Managing Director of SRS. “Stockholders want to retain the most experienced firm that has been through the process repeatedly, has no third-party affiliations that could present conflicts, and has the team capable of negotiating any potential issue.”
SRS has investigated and negotiated hundreds of claims and disputes for more than 22,000 selling shareholders, including more than 400 venture capital and private equity clients. The firm has been retained to protect over $2.7 billion in escrow holdings and over $4 billion in earnouts in deals spanning the globe.
“The NVCA has been tracking venture-backed exits for a long time,” said Mark Heesen, President of the National Venture Capital Association. “Trends emerge and evolve over time based on many economic and industry-specific factors. The venture industry has embraced the need for an experienced, stable shareholder representative that will remain dedicated for years into the future.”
So far this year, SRS has served as the shareholder representative on numerous high profile deals including:
- Prometheus’ acquisition by Nestle Health Sciences
- ITA Software’s acquisition by Google
- Quidsi’s acquisition by Amazon
- Plexxikon’s acquisition by Daiichi Sankyo
- SecureWorks’ acquisition by Dell.
“For a few years now, we have advised our clients to be mindful of the responsibilities and problems inherent in the role of shareholder representative,” said Craig Menden, Partner at Cooley LLP. “The job is fraught with risk, so unless you really understand what the job entails and have been through the process repeatedly, you will not appreciate the risks or, if there is a complicated claim made, the amount of work you will be taking on.”
“When hiring a shareholder representative, the shareholders really want to know two things,” said Paul Koenig, Managing Director of SRS. “First, they want to know that the representative knows what they’re doing. Second, since engaging a shareholder representative creates a multi-year relationship, they want to know that the representative is stable and established enough to have confidence that they’ll still be there several years from now. Having done 200 transactions over the last several years, the marketplace knows that SRS meets both of those essential requirements.”
SRS is the first to create proprietary technology for M&A post-closing deal management, the first to develop research studies for deal makers based on a distinct pool of transactions and extensive escrow data, and the first to create a manual of post-closing drafting tips for M&A counsel. Select SRS publications can be accessed on the firm’s website.
About SRS
SRS | Shareholder Representative Services is the global expert in professionally managing the post-closing process to safeguard the selling shareholders’ interests in private company M&A transactions. As the shareholder representative, SRS manages all post-closing matters, including working capital and other purchase price adjustments, tax reviews, earnouts, the handling of claims, disputes and litigation, communications with acquirers and selling shareholders, and management and distribution of escrow and expense funds. On deals valued in aggregate in excess of $20 billion, SRS has represented more than 400 venture capital and private equity firms and over 22,000 shareholders in 44 countries. No one has as much knowledge and experience in serving as a shareholder representative and navigating the issues that arise post-closing than SRS. For more information, visit www.shareholderrep.com.