AI Magazine Jan 2018

www.acq-intl.com • January 2018

In this issue:

Creating Innovative Technologies in the Cardiovascular Space

Pure Focus. Premier Value.

Chalos & Co, P.C. R3Location: Trusted Relocation in a Complex City

An Influential and Global Leader Studio Legale Ichino Brugnatelli e Associati (Ichino Brugnatelli) is a wideranging Italian law firm, holding an outstanding reputation. Manuela Grassi tells us more about the firm and herself, as she features in the 2017 Global Excellence Awards as Most Influential Woman in Banking Law 2017 within Italy.

No information contained on or in this website constitutes investment advice or an offer to invest or to provide management services and is subject to correction, completion and amendment without notice. Neither AI nor any of its associated entities are authorised to give financial advice of any nature nor are they regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Prior to making any investment, AI recommends that any prospective investor should consult with its own investment, accounting, legal and tax advisers to evaluate independently the risks, consequences and suitability of that investment.

AI Global Media, Ltd. (AI) takes reasonable measures to ensure the quality of the information on this web site. However, AI will not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness or completeness of any information that is available through this web site. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them.

The information available through the website and our partner publications is for your general information and use and is not intended to address any particular finance or investment requirements. In particular, the information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by us or any of our partner publications and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making or refraining from making any investment or financial decisions.

Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Any arrangement made between you and any third party named in the site is at your sole risk and responsibility.

How to get in touch AI welcomes news and views from its readers.

Correspondence should be sent to; Address: Acquisition International, Second Floor Suite F, The Maltsters, 1-2 Wetmore Road, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 1LS. Phone: +44 (0) 1283 712447 Email: reception@acquisition-intl.com Website: www.acquisition-intl.com Find us on...

Editor’s Comment

Welcome to the first edition of Acquisition Intl. Magazine this year, the latest developments in the world of corporate finance.

In recent news, people analytics and mental wellbeing to gain favour in the 2018 workplace, as Millennials take over and a shrinking talent pool fiercens the competition for hiring the very best. Perkbox, UK’s fastest growing employee benefits platform, predicts people analytics and mental wellbeing will gain favour this 2018, as the workplace becomes ever more important to employers.

Kickstarting the New Year off, we discover more about Law Firm Zavrsek LLC, a small to medium sized law firm according to Slovenian standards, providing a broad range of services.

The lawyers at the firm possess a wide range of experience in different areas of law, and we spoke to Managing Partner, M.Sc. Roman Zavrsek who gave us an overview of this insightful and award-winning law firm.

Elsewhere in the issue, committed to providing innovative cancer care, Proton Partners International is a thriving healthcare company making great strides in the health sector. We profile the organisation and speak to its CEO, Mike Moran, about what the future holds for the company.

Also in this month’s edition Dapesco is a consultancy company that specialises in guiding and advising large organisations about all of the many issues involved with energy management.

We learn more about company when we profile the firm and discover more about their evolution since inception.

Lastly, The ISEC7 Group is an innovative global provider of mobile business services and software solutions. We spoke with Marco Gocht as we looked to find out more about the success of the pioneering company and the range of solutions it offers.

Here at Acquisition Intl. Magazine, we hope that you enjoy reading this packed edition and we wish you all the best for 2018.

Jessie Daykin - Editor - j.daykin@aiglobalmedialtd.com

4 News

17 Representation Within the Courts Law Firm Zavrsek LLC

6 An Influential and Global Leader Studio Legale Ichino Brugnatelli e Associati

18 Ty Sagalow: Redefining the Insurance Industry Innovation Insurance Group, LLC

8 Proton Beam Therapy Proton Partners

20 Pioneering Treatments to Restore Patients’ Quality of Life RAFT

9 An Instinct for Growth Grant Thornton Taiwan 10 Revitalising Businesses The Spa Group Events & Marketing Company Ltd 11 Putting Artificial Intelligence into the Energy Management Market Dapesco s.a.

12 Delivering the Future of Finance Prophix UK Ltd 14 A Wealth of Economic Expertise Québec International 15 Australian Taxation Matters Australasian Taxation Services 16 The Right Direction Direct Lift Company

2 Acquisition International - January 2018

READ THIS MONTH’S CPD ACCREDITED ISSUE TO GAIN 6 CPD POINTS

22 Creating Excellence in Corporate Law NorelidHolm 23 Rayes & Fagundes: Making a Difference 24 Creating Innovative Technologies in the Cardiovascular Space FineHeart 25 News 26 People, Not Packages ICON Relocation 26 Only the Best Will Do Campo d’Oro Sas

28 The Experts in Enterprise Mobility ISEC7 Group 28 Finding Transformative Leaders and Equipping Them to Succeed in Uncertain Times Heidrick & Struggles

Contents

21

36

RAFT

34

Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum

Studio Legale Fabiano

QuĂŠbec International

14

31 Driving Innovation in Leadership Development Protostar

45 Data Protection and Information Security Expertise Paul Lanois

33 R3Location: Trusted Relocation in a Complex City

46 Helge Nyberg AB: Manufacturing Success

35 Intelligence and Discipline Studio Legale Fabiano

47 The Key to Success K Professional Accountants

36 Innovative Ways Spadafora De Rosa Studio Legale e Tributario

48 One of the Leading Names in Corporate and Commercial Legal Practice N. Dowuona & Company

37 Dedication to Mediation Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum

49 Tradition in Innovation Lugna

39 A Specialist in Commercial Litigation & Arbitration: Toronto, Ontario Marvin J. Huberman LL.B, LL.M.

50 Driving Excellence in IT Law MORGENSTERN

40 Flying the Flag KPMG Zambia 41 Helping the Individual Taurus Infotek 42 Chalos & Co: The Legal Firm Famed for Superior Service 43 Pure Focus. Premier Value.

Blaige & Company

8

Aviation Selection Consultants

Deal of the Year Awards 52 Hygiene Business of Ecolab Inc Enviro-Master 53 Deal of the Year: WeShareBonds Minority Stake Acquisition La Banque Postale 54 Round-up of 2017 Bureau van Dijk 56 Winners’ Listings

18

Innovation Insurance Group, LLC

Acquisition International - January 2018 3

News: from around the world

Workplace Resolutions: Perkbox Predicts Workplace Trends for 2018 People analytics and mental wellbeing to gain favour in the 2018 workplace, as Millennials take over and a shrinking talent pool fiercens the competition for hiring the very best.

4 Acquisition International - January 2018

NEWS / From Around The World

Perkbox, UK’s fastest growing employee benefits platform, predicts people analytics and mental wellbeing will gain favour this 2018, as the workplace becomes ever more important to employers. The shrinking talent pool will lead to recruitment wars and we’ll finally hear the end of millennials being talked about as a new and mysterious force in the workplace. A large number of them will take the reins in organisations, and with tech natives in positions of power, we’ll see a greater adoption of creative solutions to old workplace problems.

In the not so distant past, it wasn’t uncommon for larger organisations to be unaware of the exact number of people who worked for them. Today, in stark contrast, many are able to comfortably track data on skills (and their shortages), personal performance, personal performance, personalities and even happiness and culture. As people data becomes increasingly accessible to HR professionals, it will become a critical resource to eliminate the subjectivity in business-centric people decisions. The challenge: just because something can be measured doesn’t mean it can give you the answer to things.

2018 will see businesses take a more sophisticated approach in turning this information into meaningful metrics. Data will help us improve our organisation’s agility, capability, innovation and, ultimately, bottom line revenue.

As the population ages and jobs become increasingly specialised, we’ll also see the competition for talent fiercen in 2018. Some 60% of HR and recruitment professionals anticipate that in the next three years we’ll experience increased difficulty in recruiting senior and skilled employees as a direct result of Brexit. Employers will want to invest more in their people and promote more inclusive and fulfilling experiences. Office perks, rewards and recognition platforms, unlimited holidays – and much more – will become invaluable differentiation tools for businesses demonstrating they care about their employees more than their competitors do.

Additionally, the market has seen an increased focus on mental wellbeing in 2017, with numerous reports released on the subject – perhaps most notably the Government’s Thriving at Work report. We are likely to see more employers take action on this topic and fundamentally re-imagining the role that work plays in our lives. In 2018 initiatives such as developing greater mental health awareness in workplaces and encouraging a healthier work-life balance will become a number one priority.

Chieu Cao, CMO and Co-Founder of Perkbox, commented on the findings and how these will affect workplaces across the UK. “As millennials rise in the workplace, the stigma of becoming a flaky job-hopper has become a thing of the past. This has come at a time when skills and good ideas are at an all-time premium posing difficulty to businesses which also have to fill specialist roles from a shrinking talent pool. The fear of Brexit’s impact in the UK also adds to this challenge.

“Fortunately, 2017 has been a year where we’ve started scrutinising just about every HR practice we have in place, with many on their way of being reinvented completely. 2018 will be an exciting year where we see organisations – particularly larger ones – lean on these new resources to strive for differentiation and overcome some of the biggest problems of talent retention of this day and age.”

Artificial Intelligence Causes New Challenges For Research Ethics At Universities The acceleration of knowledge and the emergence of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), has provoked new ethical questions and requires universities to approach research ethics differently, says Professor Sylvie Pommier, Director of Doctoral Research at Université Paris-Saclay.

As a response, the university officially created the Université Paris-Saclay Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity Council (POLETHIS) last month.

“International, world-class universities have a responsibility to train and advise researchers on projects that have an impact on people,” says Pommier. “In some areas, especially in technology, there have been advancements that impact society differently and we must adapt our advice to protect scientific integrity.”

The council will focus on four key areas. These include a forum for exchanging views, sharing experiences and giving advice on what to do to preserve scientific integrity, as well as training in research ethics for every PhD student and supervisor.

Under this initiative, the Université Paris-Saclay Ethics Assessment Committee will be available to give advisory ethics opinions on research protocols involving human subjects to any researchers at the university.

The council will also carry out its own research into ethics. It will be chaired

by Emmanuel Hirsch, medical ethics professor at Université Paris-Sud, a founding member of Université ParisSaclay.

After beginning this process in January, the council has been specifically tailored to the needs of the university’s research fields, it aims to address the challenges within its laboratories in the most efficient way.

Acquisition International - January 2018 5

1712AI80

Company: Studio Legale Ichino Brugnatelli e Associati Contact: Manuela Grassi Contact Email: manuela. grassi@ichinobrugnatelli.it maria.clavarino@ ichinobrugnatelli.it Address: Via Lorenzo Mascheroni, 31, Milan, 20145, Italy Phone: 0039 02 481 932 49 Website: www.ichinobrugnatelli.it

An Influential and Global Leader Studio Legale Ichino Brugnatelli e Associati (Ichino Brugnatelli) is a wide-ranging Italian law firm, holding an outstanding reputation. Manuela Grassi tells us more about the firm and herself, as she features in the 2017 Global Excellence Awards as Most Influential Woman in Banking Law 2017 within Italy. ased in Milan and founded in the second half of the 19th century, Ichino Brugnatelli assists a variety of clients, but mainly banks, financial institutions, pension funds, public companies, foreign and domestic corporations operating in different industries and sectors. Ichino Brugnatelli offers unparalleled multijurisdictional transactional, regulatory and advisory practices.

B

Manuela is senior partner of Ichino Brugnatelli and has been since 2006. She started her career there in 1993, focusing on corporate and banking, with expertise in M&A and bankruptcy law, in addition to a wide experience in litigation and arbitration.

Manuela has assisted large group companies in corporate governance matters. She is the author of several articles on corporate and bankruptcy law which have been published in leading legal magazines.

Starting off, Manuela tells us a bit more about the firm and the type of work it does, describing the structure of the company, highlighting different departments and what transactions the team usually undertakes.

“...the mission of our law firm is to cater to our clients’ needs and go the extra mile for them. In order to achieve this, we have set up wide professional teams, composed of highly qualified lawyers...”

“The firm is structured into two departments, each with its own organisation of dedicated teams and staff. The department headed by myself and Francesco Brugnatelli is focused in banking and commercial litigation (including the rights of individuals and inheritance cases), arbitration proceedings, corporate and commercial law including mergers and acquisitions and bankruptcy law. We handle a wide variety of financial contracts and structured transactions, insolvency proceedings, corporate crisis and reorganisations, compositions (both in-court and out-of-court), liabilities and claw-back actions. In 2017, the

6 Acquisition International - January 2018

department won the award as Best Boutique Law Firm of the year in the banking area.”

Researching every case and every client in-depth, the team at Ichino Brugnatelli analyse the client matter to gain a deep insight into every issue, operating with an innovative vision, and possessing a firm-wide dedication to professional development.

Along with teamwork, these are all key features which characterise the identity of the firm. Staff have a first-class combination of thorough preparation and strong performance.

Commenting on team members working towards achieving the same goals, Manuela outlines the overall mission of the practice, listing what steps the firm will take in order to fulfil its mission. She alludes to the bilingual nature of staff, which helps each member of the team to succeed in their quest to go one step further for the clients with whom they work with.

“Firstly, the mission of our law firm is to cater to our clients’ needs and go the extra mile for them.

In order to achieve this, we have set up wide professional teams, composed of highly qualified lawyers, fluent in English and French, meaning we are able to carry out sophisticated and complex deals, tailored to the best possible solution to the clients’ goals and to meet all deadlines.

“Secondly, each team is usually led by a partner who is directly involved in all stages of the activity. The firm’s mission is to provide high quality, creative, and result-oriented legal teams to individuals and businesses, and serve as a primary resource and partner in all aspects of clients’ business growth and development. Also, we have acquired an in-depth expertise in international commercial agreements, public procurement issues and in the real estate sector. We strive to be always well informed on the recent amendments to law and jurisprudence. In this regard, our studies and essays are published by various journals and reviews, and we organise conferences on a regular basis.”

Discussing what makes the firm unique, Manuela is keen to emphasise the high level of expertise and technical knowledge that each professional possesses. Building a formidable track record of successful transactional, contentious and regulatory advice across the spectrum of industry

An Influential and Global Leader

sectors is another aspect which differentiates the law firm from the rest.

“Over the past years, we have been able to make case-law precedent before the Court of Milan in the field of banking litigation, particularly in derivative securities, compound interest, current account contracts, credit, suretyship and international guarantees, leasing, factoring. Our firm has an excellent technical knowledge and is able to find creative solutions maintaining a strong Italian identity. In addition, we have a prestigious and professional background, being able to interrelate tradition to cutting edge assistance. Also, we have built a formidable track record of successful transactional, contentious and regulatory advice across the spectrum of industry sectors.”

Indeed, another factor in helping the firm distinguish itself from its competitors is Manuela herself, and she tells us how it feels to have been selected for this award. Manuela is working to share these goals with the younger generations in the field. She aims to be an example to upcoming lawyers and help the best to really fulfil their potential, something she comments on as she gives advice to those looking to reflect her success in their own careers.

“To be selected for this award is a significant reward to share with my team considering that we form a cohesive group, enhancing the practice and ensuring the client a successful service. This recognition is added to the one received in April 2017. On that date, I was awarded as ‘Lawyer of the Year in Banking’ during a ceremony held in Milan at Palazzo Mezzanotte headquarters of Borsa Italiana – the Milan Stock Exchange. The following was said regarding Manuela: “She demonstrates a vast experience and in-depth knowledge of the dynamics of the judicial litigation and arbitration in the banking field which, with a unanimous opinion by clients and counterparties, brought her to become a lawyer of outstanding ability.

“The best advice I would give other women looking to succeed in the law field, is to have a great sense of self-abnegation and humility in continuing studying and research, with the spirit of commitment and not be discouraged in the face of adversity. Along with any advice, I will concretely contribute to the development of female talent considering that I have also been selected as mentor for young women in business by Valore D, the first association of large companies formed in Italy to support women’s leadership in the corporate world. The lawyer’s profession has changed over the last few years becoming ever more competitive and less safe, but to invest in the merit together with an eye to marketing strategies, all this will pay.”

A partial aspect of the firm’s overwhelming success has been the region of Lombardia, in which the firm is based, and Manuela tells us about the main benefits of being based in this location.

“The Lombardia region is the driving force of Italy and Milan is the engine; this entails the benefits which outweigh the drawbacks. The benefit being the workload, and the drawbacks of a hectic

environment. Being a vital and forward-looking city, where European trade fairs and business interest are converging is a great benefit. The firm’s development in Milan has always been in direct response to the commercial needs of its clients, typically global corporations, financial institutions and governments.

As Milan has become increasingly important to these clients, the firm has expanded its full-service domestic and international law capabilities to provide assistance. Additionally, Ichino Brugnatelli has a number of legal experts in their fields including partners, based in Milan, and the firm continues to respond to the growing international needs of its clients by enhancing the cross-border aspects of its practices and integrating multi-practice teams.”

Proud of her own success, Manuela is keen to state what recent transactions she has been working on, which have brought success to her and the firm.

“Just to name a few, I would like to cite four transactions in which I have been involved recently.

The first one, regards an arbitration before the Chamber of Arbitration of the Milan Chamber of Commerce, on behalf of a pension fund of a primary Italian banking group worth 110 million euro. The second, a real estate development in Italy for the building of the new site of an American multinational worth about 16 million euro. The third, a dispute before the Italian Supreme Court on behalf of a primary Italian bank worth 112 million euro. The fourth was for providing assistance to a Japanese corporation involved in a negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice under the Public Procurement Code as recently amended, worth about 1.5 million euro.”

talks about the reputation that Ichino Brugnatelli has earned itself internationally, and indicates a possible expansion into China.

“Having acquired significant reputation in international matters and taking advantage of the fact that Mr. Francesco Brugnatelli is fluent in Mandarin, we are expanding our vision towards China and as expected for 2018, to manage a number of transactions stemming from our Chinese contacts together with further contacts worldwide. We are ready to advise both domestic and international corporations wishing to invest in China and Chinese enterprises, and willing to do the same in Italy. Recently, we have set up a dedicated team that offers legal assistance to Italian and European companies concerning Chinese interests, and provides Chinese companies with a complete consulting service in business opportunities offered by domestic and European markets. In this regard, we are also planning to open a Chinese desk aimed to facilitate this kind of contact.”

Ultimately, as well as expanding into China, Manuela signs off by stating that the firm are always open to new challenges within the legal sector, and sets out what opportunities will possibly present themselves to the company.

“Lastly, we are always open to new challenges in the legal sector, particularly regarding highly complex corporate and financial transactions. Looking ahead, we are considering the possibility to make available our expertise in NPLs, mini-bond and GDPR matters which today are of great interest to the banking and business sector.”

Moving forwards, Manuela will look to build on the success of her previous achievements as well as further the reputation and status of the firm. She

Acquisition International - January 2018 7

1801AI09

Proton Beam Therapy Company: Proton Partners International Limited Contact: Mike Moran Contact Email: Mike.Moran@proton-int.com Address: 3 Assembly Square, Cardiff, CF10 4PL, UK Phone: 2077100020 Website: www.proton-int.com

Committed to providing innovative cancer care, Proton Partners International is a thriving healthcare company making great strides in the health sector. We profile the organisation and speak to its CEO, Mike Moran, about what the future holds for the company. roton Partners International was formed to respond to the growing global demand for high energy proton beam therapy. The founders had a very clear vision; to build a network of cancer centres in the UK and in international markets. The team set out to raise £100m in equity and debt to build out the first three proton beam therapy centres. Early equity investors included Woodford Funds and the Wales Life Sciences Investment Fund. The debt provision (£35m) was put in place by Shawbrook Bank which, at the time, was the largest debt provision in the Bank’s history.

P

Taking a look into the internal culture of Proton Partners, the team has been recruited with a strategy in mind, with all staff members working towards the same mission, ensuring a thriving work environment. Everyone within the company takes tremendous pride in what it is achieving, collaborating to build an impressive network of oncology centres.

Mike started out with the ambition of building a company with Excellence in mind. To achieve this, the firm developed an Excellence Model which had four pillars, with each pillar supported by a number of strategic actions. The four pillars are; Operational and Clinical Excellence, the Patient Experience, Improving Cancer Care and, Advancing proton beam therapy Technology. The two central pillars are about the patient and everything else that staff do supports them.

Regarding the firm’s offerings, Proton Partners International offers a comprehensive range of services using the latest technology in cancer treatment. Looking to build a network of oncology centres known as the Rutherford Cancer Centres, the services available will include Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy, Imaging, including computed tomography (CT), Positron emission tomography– computed tomography (PET-CT) from mid-2017, and from 2018, Proton beam therapy.

Additionally, the services on offer at the Rutherford Cancer Centres are accessible to private patients under medical insurance, self-pay patients and patients referred by the NHS. With these exciting projects ahead, there is clearly a lot to look forwards to for Proton Partners.

8 Acquisition International - January 2018

However, as with any industry, there will always be some challenges that the company will have to overcome. This does not worry the team as they will embrace these issues and look for solutions to overcome them. Mike explains what the future holds for Proton Partners, alluding to the two building projects that the company is undertaking, as well as its new partnerships.

“Having now completed our first Rutherford Cancer Centre in Newport, South Wales and with two more in the final stages of build, we have accumulated a great deal of knowledge, know-how, IP and intelligence. We are now in the position to leverage this knowledge to reduce construction lead-time and to ensure that all of our projects are delivered on time and on budget. Recently, we have signed a partnering agreement with our design team at JDDK, DESCO and Fairhurst. This has enabled us to ensure that we design out cost while maintaining quality, it also reduces significant time at the front end of the project which allows more time for the construction phase.”

Alongside its Rutherford Cancer Centres, the company has a number of exciting developments in the pipeline, which will help it to continue to grow and develop a global reputation. An example of this, is that Proton Partners International will undertake a major genomics research programme at the Life Sciences Accelerator building in Liverpool (the building is the first part of a health campus that is set to surround the £335m new Royal Liverpool Hospital).

Excitingly, Proton Partners International has also announced a two-year collaborative research project with The University of Liverpool to develop a new measurement system, known as a 3D Water Phantom, which will further improve the accuracy of proton beam therapy treatment.

Ultimately, as the world moves forward and technology becomes more advanced, the market for proton beam therapy is rapidly evolving, and Proton Partners International will be at the forefront of the growth and will continue to invest, in centres and innovation, to maintain its position as market leaders.

1801AI08

An Instinct for Growth Company: Grant Thornton Taiwan Contact: Jay Lo Contact Email: jay.lo@tw.gt.com Address: 5th Floor, No. 21 Zhongxiao East Road Sec. 6, Taipei, 11575, Taiwan, Republic of China Phone: 00886 22789 0887 Website: www.grantthornton.tw/en

Grant Thornton Taiwan are a dynamic, fast-growing firm, who understand the ambitions and aspirations of businesses seeking to be number one in their respective fields. We spoke to Jay Lo to find out more about the Most Innovative for Auditing and Taxation Services – Taiwan. rant Thornton Taiwan are a global accounting firm that provides advisory, tax, and assurance services to global enterprises of all sizes and local clients.

The challenges the team face include constantly changing laws and regulations, as well as changing technology and innovative business models.

G

At Grant Thornton Taiwan, the firm boasts a reputation as one of Taiwan’s top advisory firms, which allows it to attract an international team of the brightest, most dedicated assurance, tax and advisory specialists, providing the quality of a Big 4 accounting firm at a fraction of the price. The firm care about building a solid team to service its clients, and Jay comments on the great business that the firm receives thanks to word-of-mouth, and that this is just one of the aspects that separates the firm from competitors.

“Recent results have showed that more than 75% of our employees are willing to recommend us as an employer to their families and friends. We already serve some of the largest global enterprises in Taiwan, and invite growing businesses of all sizes to explore what we can do to turn your aspirations into a reality.

“Adaptability and versatility are key to the future of Grant Thornton Taiwan...”

“Furthermore, our reputation as one of Taiwan’s top advisory firms allows us to attract an international team of the brightest, most dedicated assurance, tax and advisory specialists, providing the quality of a Big 4 accounting firm at a fraction of the price. Also, we have an international team with capable experts that are used to serving global clients. Approximately 50% of our clients are large international companies.”

Throughout the company, the people are its most valuable asset, and the team understand that being at the forefront of professional development is vital to its success. One of its strategic priorities is to attract, develop and retain the best people in Taiwan. The team’s commitment to its people is not only recognised inside of the organisation, but also around the world, as Grant Thornton firms have

won recognition for the strength of their people and commitment to their development.

Jay mentions how the personal approach that Grant Thornton Taiwan adopts internally and externally benefits both clients and employees. This approach means that each individual client receives their own, thoroughly examined project and solutions, working closely with the firm to guarantee that satisfaction is achieved.

“Many large firms offer ‘off the shelf’ advice and solutions to their clients. At Grant Thornton Taiwan, we believe each and every client should always receive tailored, commercial and pragmatic advice regardless of the size or complexity of the project.

Grant Thornton’s 6 Box Model is a proprietary framework we use to discuss a client’s business and the best practices we see around the network.

The 6 Box Model is focused on addressing the critical drivers of growth for any business: strategy and structure, process, people and culture, financial management, and external factors including market needs; regulatory and legal concerns; and customer demands.”

Adaptability and versatility are key to the future of Grant Thornton Taiwan, with Jay signing off by commenting on how the multiple services that the team offer help it to mark itself out as the best possible option for clients, leaving it to secure the best business.

“Currently, we are working on developing a number of different software that we can share with our clients to help them in compliance to the current changes to work regulations. Also, we plan to expand our business in all areas, and become the biggest and best firm outside the Big 4.

“Ultimately, with extensive experience in audit, tax and advisory services, Grant Thornton is well placed to provide clients seamless, cross-service advice. Our combined audit and tax processes allow us to quickly address issues and/or risks businesses may face and deal with them in a timely and efficient manner. While many firms offer just one or two services, Grant Thornton provides a wide range of services that are complementary and typically provide clients with more thorough, cost effective solutions.”

Acquisition International - January 2018 9

1801AI03

Revitalising Businesses Company: The Spa Group Events & Marketing Company Ltd Contact: Simon Plumb, MD Contact Email: simon@spa-group.co.uk Address: No.2 Bridgewater Court, Barsbank Lane, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 0ER, UK Office: 00 44 (0)1925 755590 Mob: 07799 403121 Website: www.spa-group.co.uk Facebook: thespagroup Twitter: thespagroup

SPA will absorb your brief, interrogate your objectives, then create and develop a powerful method of communication which directly appeals to and motivates your specific audience. We spoke to MD of the SPA Group Ltd, Simon Plumb as we look to explore more about his and the company’s success. he SPA Group Ltd is a multi-faceted communications agency with specialisms in marketing, PR and event management. The agency has always worked across a broad cross-section of industries and therefore, SPA is deemed a generalist agency, rather than focusing on any particular sector.

T

The ethos the SPA Group Ltd has always operated with internally, is to make clients as successful as possible through the work the team performs for them. Simon tells us more about the company and how he measures his success, before going on to explain what he believes differentiates the SPA Group Ltd from other similar firms.

“If the client succeeds then we succeed. This is often based on innovative but pragmatic creativity which works on all levels, either geared to bring in sales or build high levels of brand awareness, often doing both.

“Essentially, I believe we differentiate ourselves from our competitors through innovative creativity.

It is always great to find brave clients who believe in what you are offering them, and gives you the freedom to deliver powerful campaigns. Often, when clients are selecting agencies there is something that appeals beyond box ticking and cost-effectiveness.

“I am currently working on the marketing launch of a new product, with my client, an inventor, within the retail coffee industry which I am very excited about.”

“There is often an instant chemistry which makes the process self-selecting. The same is true from the agency’s side, and a pitch can result in both sides coming to an understanding and forming a good working relationship.”

Discussing what aspects of his work he enjoys particularly, Simon mentions that he is a keen motivator. He likes helping client directors to motivate their staff, be it through conferences and teambuilding exercises.

10 Acquisition International - January 2018

“Enabling clients to broaden their horizons, I am a great believer in taking people out of their comfort zones and stretching imaginations. I love it when some, at first, look at you quizzically when given a task, then become completely engaged once the task is in process and then completed, wonderful.”

Often, there are many challenges which present themselves within the industry, with Simon citing Brexit as a key hurdle which the SPA Group Ltd will have to overcome.

“If anyone says Brexit has not presented problems in my sector they are being more than economical with the truth. There is no doubt in my mind that the Brexit vote and snap election have completely changed the UK’s business landscape in the shortterm, and perhaps irreparably in the longer-term.

“On a purely financial scale, budgets have been cut but it is an issue that we have to deal with and the staff will work hard in order to improve fortunes within the company.”

Nevertheless, Brexit and many other challenges are facing the company and the market, and Simon alludes to what attributes and thoughts he believes make the most successful brand and business owners.

“With regard to overcoming challenges, the most successful brand owners are those who continue to spend through the downturns. Naturally, someone like me would say that but it is something I firmly believe in.”

As a mature operator, drawing on his previous experience and depth of knowledge, Simon is in no doubt that he will continue to succeed within the industry. He signs off by talking excitedly about some upcoming projects for the firm, as well “Moving forwards, I am enjoying my business life and perhaps the fruits of my labours. I am currently working on the marketing launch of a new product, with my client, an inventor, within the retail coffee industry which I am very excited about. It has worldwide potential and, if we get this right, it could change that sector’s landscape. All I can say at the moment is that we have found an industry blind spot and the time is coming when everyone will see it, the trade and consumer. It is unbelievably exciting.

“Ultimately, in my view that is the secret, be excited about your work, share that excitement with your client and success will follow. It is that simple.”

1712AI75

Company: Dapesco s.a.

Contact: Tanguy Detroz Contact Email: tdz@dapesco.com Address: Fleming Science Park, Granbonpré, 4, 1348 Louvain La Neuve, Belgium Phone: 0032 10 22 52 86 Website: www.dapesco.com

Putting Artificial Intelligence into the Energy Management Market Dapesco is a consultancy company that specialises in guiding and advising large organisations about all of the many issues involved with energy management. We profile the firm to learn more about how it came to be named Leading Adviser of the Year - Belgium in our highly-regarded Leading Adviser Awards 2017. ounded in 2002, Dapesco initially operated as a research unit dedicated to energy saving. Its mission is to lower its clients’ energy bills by looking at two factors: lowering consumption and lowering the purchasing price. Since inception the firm has flourished, and as such Dapesco’s services have been present on the five major continents since 2013. Louvain-la-Neuve University science park is where the company has its headquarters. Dapesco also has offices in Paris and partners in different countries.

F

Historically, Dapesco’s typical client is an energyintensive, multi-site company. Keen to manage both financial and technical aspects at a global level, Dapesco soon noticed the absence on the market of any software tools enabling the integration of data from multi-site clients.

“What marks the firm out as the best possible option for this wide variety of clients, is its vast field expertise, as experience is a real added value...”

Working with multi-site clients gave rise to Dapesco’s second business: energy management software design. Its platform, formerly known as EMIS, which stands for Energy Management Information System, allows energy to be monitored continuously and remotely. It integrates meter data (taken from meters and sub-meters), invoicing data, production data, as well as meteorological and contractual data.

In 2018, EMIS is replaced by JOOL, a brand new software platform integrating Artificial Intelligence, big data analytics and collaborative expertise. JOOL fulfils a triple-headed function in regard to energy: the optimisation of purchases, daily management of energy saving activities and technical expertise in relation to the technologies in place.

Among Dapesco’s clients are some of the big names in a range of sectors including retail, tertiary building, industry and the public sector. Some of them, the selfsupporting end-users, use its tools autonomously and exploit the data using their own energy manager.

Others require the full services of Dapesco, delegating their entire energy management process. These also include resellers, partner research companies that offer Dapesco’s platform to their clients under their own label.

What marks the firm out as the best possible option for this wide variety of clients, is its vast field expertise, as experience is a real added value compared to many young start-ups in the industry that may be very aggressive in terms of price but have less comprehensive solutions.

Like everywhere in Europe, regulation is increasing in terms of energy efficiency, and this creates a positive effect for the energy management sector. Nevertheless, only strong and experienced companies manage these opportunities in a global way, including finance, technology and environment.

Belgium is demonstrating creativity in sustainable energy, and Dapesco aims to be at the forefront of this latest development. All of these sectors are strengths for Dapesco, and as such the firm has a bright and exciting future ahead.

To capitalise on the opportunities, it foresees in the market, moving forward the company is striving for large-scale international expansion in the next three years. With two people already in Paris, it intends to establish a presence with its French neighbours for reasons of cultural proximity. Above all, it aims to establish itself in Germany either by creating subsidiaries or through acquisitions. Recently, Dapesco also signed contracts that will allow the firm to operate in Russia, China and the USA, allowing it to grow and build upon the phenomenal success it has already achieved.

Acquisition International - January 2018 11

1801AI02

Company: Prophix UK Ltd

Delivering the Future of Finance Behind the transformation of the finance function lies the increasing technical skills of FDs and other professionals, as Daniel Mason reports. hat do we know about the future? Only what we can learn from the past. This truth is at the heart of the role of the finance function: to give a clear and accurate picture of an organisation’s past performance, and based on that knowledge, show possible futures.

W

Given what the recent past tells us about the near future, this capability will only increase in importance.

The current period of uncertainty does not seem set to end any time soon. We can expect continuing shocks across the political and economic landscape. And the rapid pace of technological innovation will continue to disrupt whole industries.

Change in Three Dimensions What does it take to build sustainable success in this environment? For our report on the modern finance function, we assembled evidence from finance leaders, industry analysts, and our own experienced consultants. What we found was a transformation taking place in three dimensions. Three transitions that every office of finance must undertake in order to be truly future-ready.

We then asked a range of finance professionals about their progress in making these transitions. This is what they said.

12 Acquisition International - January 2018

If you can improve data sources to the point that they can be trusted, and automate the production of critical reports, you can be assured of compliance at any point in time. Paper trails are clear and unambiguous.

There’s no fear of the unexpected call from a regulator.

Auditors can walk in at any time and have access to everything they need. And M&A activity can be accelerated.

Transition 2: From Reporting to Operational Intelligence With confidence gained in data quality and time freed from the production of external reports, the forwardlooking finance function can turn attention to the business. The transition to operational intelligence is about enhancing the finance function’s capability to support other functions across the organization with data-driven answers to key business questions.

Currently, this capability is limited by multiple factors.

There is often a lag in the availability of good performance data, meaning analysis is a long way from real time. Resources are often scarce in finance, limiting the willingness to offer additional support to those in sales, marketing or operations. Even where there is the willingness, the skills are often lacking, both for the analysis itself and the communication of the results.

Transition 1: From Compliance, to Smart Compliance The first shift required is to make compliance a state rather than a process. This means cleaning up data sources and automating the production of critical external reports, whether they are annual accounts or regulatory filings. This process provides a foundation of solid data for the next two transitions, and frees up the human resource required to undertake them.

It also diminishes the risk of damaging mistakes, and reduces the reliance of the organisation on a small number of individuals who have the knowledge to complete the relevant filings: all too often, the processes for producing reports are contained in spreadsheets that few in the business understand.

There’s also the issue of tools. Over half of respondents still rely on spreadsheets and presentation software to produce reports.

This looks to be the reality for 30 of the 40 companies we surveyed about their progress on this transition, who told us that reports are produced on spreadsheets by one or two key staff. Not only is the report production process very manual, but the sources of data from which they have to work are not trusted.

80% of respondents said that at least some data has to be verified manually before it is trusted, either with the source or by referring to other staff members.

Transition 3: From Planning to Foresight In too many organisations, planning and budgeting has become a time-consuming and often adversarial process that adds little real value. Though almost half of respondents said that planning was now a ‘collaborative process’, the rest described it as ‘top down’ (40%), ‘an uncomfortable dialogue’ (7.5%) or ‘a battle’ (5%). Over half of the respondents said the process takes too long, with 10% saying it takes more than three months of each year.

None can offer data in an interactive format to users beyond finance, allowing them to create their own models. Where good tools exist, skills are the issue: more than a quarter of respondents said only a single individual has expertise in the reporting system.

One example of the type of analysis that could be valuable is profitability. Here, less than half of respondents can produce analysis with any level of granularity that might support decision-making on a departmental or product level.

Delivering the Future of Finance

To drive better decision-making, future-ready organisations need a planning process that informs.

That means taking historical data, as current as possible, and using it to plot a variety of future scenarios. Creating a plan from these scenarios should be a collaborative process where everyone involved can work from the same clear evidence of current realities.

This is the reality for a minority today. A quarter of respondents only have plans in place to the end of the current year. Less than half can look beyond the current planning horizon with any confidence. And beyond the office of finance, a third say planning is seen as a corporate requirement with little value for them. 5% see it was a waste of time.

The Journey Has Begun What we have learned from the first cohort to respond to our study, is that most organisations are making moves along the track we have defined towards being future ready. Progress varies, but there is widespread recognition of the risk and resource implications of manual processing. Better reporting tools are being adopted. Skills of financial planning and analysis, and critically communication, are increasingly valued.

Some companies can look into the future with real confidence about what the data tells them.

However, for many there is still a long way to go. Even those that have notionally centralized their data into ERP or general ledger systems, admit that much is still stored in spreadsheets or specialist systems across the business. Data collection remains manual and time-consuming for almost half.

It is in these cases where the strategic role for finance is most at risk. More than 40% of respondents told us that finance isn’t involved in the development of new initiatives, at best being asked to review the impact of decisions only once they have been made. Less than a quarter of respondents told us that finance is responsible for defining future scenarios rather than testing other people’s hypotheses or validating plans that have already been set.

Resilience, Insight, Foresight The future of finance is, like the future macro environment, uncertain. However, this in itself gives us guidance. In times of uncertainty, success can be best ensured by the development of three skills: resilience, insight, and foresight.

Making the transition from compliance, to smart compliance, should make organisations more resilient, minimising risk and maximising flexibility by ensuring preparedness for unexpected events.

Creating a true capability for operational insight maximises the chance for success by better informing decision-making with real world and ideally, near-realtime data. Also, leveraging that data to offer foresight into multiple possible future scenarios, ensures that chosen strategies have the best chance of delivering sustainable success over the long term. Consider these three skills and transitions as you continue your journey into the future of finance.

Acquisition International - January 2018 13

1712AI37

Company: Québec International Contact Email: info@quebecinternational.ca Phone: 001 418 681 9700 Website: www.quebecinternational.ca

A Wealth of Economic Expertise Québec International is an economic development agency devoted to helping companies and investors. We invited Québec International’s President and CEO, Carl Viel to give us a behind the scenes view of the Most Outstanding Economic Development Agency 2017 in the Global Excellence Awards. ounded in 2003, Québec International helps companies in the Québec City metropolitan region develop and maintain a competitive edge on international markets. The agency also provides services to foreign investors and subsidiaries established on its territory, with support for development, start-up or expansion projects. The Québec International economic development agency offers a full slate of support services for foreign investors, and assistance to companies in the Québec City metropolitan region.

F

With many strings to its bow, the agency works in many different industries, including life sciences, ICT, Electronics and Optics, food and nutrition, valueadded materials, environment and energy industries, as well as the insurance and financial services.

Bolstering its reputation, the company is able to distinguish itself from its competitors, despite operating in such a competitive region. Carl states that the area is the best choice around for clients in a variety of areas, noting how everyone cooperates with each other in order to produce the best results.

“The Québec City area is in a position to rival the any major cities of the world. When it comes to offering a competitive business environment to those wishing to invest, the Québec City area has nothing to envy to the others. With a solid economy supported by strong industrial sectors, the Québec City area offers choice and momentum while reducing the cost.

“Cooperating is second nature to us. Isolated markets and an inward focused approach are things we try to avoid at all costs. We throw the doors wide open so that clients can forge their projects’ to be profitable alliances with other companies in the sector, and partners who are eager to help clients move their projects forward. Here, competition and collaboration are not opposing concepts, they go hand in hand.”

Balancing its ambition without overcommitting itself is a key aspect in the agency’s fortunes. Competition is good for the sector and for different companies, and Québec International is able to find the right balance, achieving success without eliminating its competitors. Entrepreneurs and business leaders are a source of pride and inspire others to follow in their footsteps. They share their achievements knowing that their city appreciates what they do and will return the favour. Success is a key element for

14 Acquisition International - January 2018

social cohesion, and Québec International reaps the benefits of this scarce commodity in the unique business ecosystem.

However, there are some issues which the agency will have to work hard to overcome, but Carl is confident that the company will embrace these challenges, citing workforce availability as a key area that needs improvement.

“That said, last year’s results highlighted some of the issues that the area is facing. Efforts must be made to tackle these issues so that our economy can continue to grow. Workforce availability is one of our primary concerns. According to our projections, Québec City will add nearly 20,000 new jobs by 2021, exceeding the growth experienced between 2011 and 2016 (+13,300 jobs). The need for workers will increase due to the expansion and establishment of foreign companies.

“Additionally, more and more positions will need to be filled, especially as people retire. With that in mind, it will be important to monitor the development of the labour force, since it is growing more slowly than the job market, increasing the severity of labour shortages. Investment development will also draw attention to the region. More than 300 major residential and non-residential projects are planned or underway, generating more than $10 billion over the next 10 years. These projects will support capital expenditures. However, expenditures in R&D, innovation, equipment, marketing and training will also be critical in terms of encouraging competition between companies, and growing said companies’ market share.”

Overall, the efforts made over the past few years will serve as an important lever for growing Québec. Carl signs off by talking about how the positive energy that runs through Québec International will benefit not only the company in the future, but also the region as a whole.

“Lastly, in everything we do, we are driven by the same positive energy. We jealously guard our quality of life, and this is reflected in the way we do business. Also, we instil and protect a social climate that is synonymous with good living and seize every opportunity to join together to celebrate our achievements. The Québec City area not only has business savvy, it is also blessed with a festive spirit.”

1712AI87

ATS Company: Australasian Taxation Services – a company of SMATS Services Pte Ltd Contact Email: tax@smats.net Phone: +65 6293 3858 Website: www.smats.net/tax

Australian Taxation Matters With an established network of offices around the globe, Australasian Taxation Services (ATS) continues to dominate as the leading Australian expatriate and property tax firm, having serviced thousands of international and Australian based clients. Steve Douglas provides an indepth overview of the services and success of the company.

TS is a registered Australian tax agent that ensures clients gain a full understanding of their Australian tax obligations and opportunities. The team are experts in Australian tax compliance and provide specialised tax planning services for Australian expatriates, property investors and intended migrants to Australia. ATS is a part of the global corporation SMATS Group of businesses.

A

Steve Douglas, Co-Founder and Managing Director of ATS and Chairman of SMATS Services Pte Ltd, has created success in a niche market by capitalising on his taxation specialisations for non-resident property investors, migration and expatriate taxation planning.

As a regular presenter on Australian taxation matters, Steve has delivered seminars across the globe on behalf of many industry organisations and property developers, including the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia and Australian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong.

Interestingly, Steve has been featured in articles by the Singapore Business Times, South China Morning Post, Australian Entrepreneur Magazine, Benchmark, Western Australian Property and Investment and Property Link magazine. He comments that his team drives the success of the company.

“Our team members have a full understanding of Australian and international tax issues and are members of the Chartered Accountants of Australian and New Zealand, Tax Institute of Australia and Certified Practicing Accountants, as well as other corporate, industry and regulatory entities.

“We are recognised as leaders in our market and have been active in making submissions to Government, regulatory and advisory bodies regarding taxation, policy and legislative changes that effect foreign investors and Australian expatriates.”

Fundamentally, the organisation’s mission is to create a safe and ethical environment where the opportunity for personal and financial improvement for clients and team members can be accomplished with sincerity, respect and admiration through efficiency and professionalism.

Steve explains clients benefit from a fixed fee service, regardless of complexity and how they differentiate themselves from their competitors.

“ATS was the first and still remains the only taxation consultancy that specialises in assisting property investors with their Australian taxation requirements. In

addition to our services, we also provide all our clients with access to our exclusive property tax estimator, which details the cash flow and taxation effect of your property.”

As a foreign investor, ATS delivers tax effective and reduced risk investment strategies to assist clients.

The team unlock the benefits of the Australian Taxation system and actively educate clients to understand how to optimise investment returns with the aid of tax incentives and concessions. ATS’ unique and innovative computer forecasting systems assists clients in fully understanding all aspects of their property investment in Australia, ensuring clients receive the best and most accurate advice and service.

Specialising in a variety of services, the company assists clients with regards to Australian Tax Return Preparation, Australian Property Financial Feasibility Analysis, Australian Migration Taxation Planning and Australian Expatriate Tax Planning. Steve explains how it feels for the company to be recognised on a global scale for the work that the team do.

“It is an honour to be awarded for the third consecutive year as the Most Outstanding for Expat Tax in the 2017 Global Excellence Awards. It is testament to the value we place on providing outstanding service, honest advice and always acting with integrity.”

In the future, the company will continue to expand its resources, offices and services across the SMATS Group of companies, and will continue to offer exceptional customer service to all of its clients.

The outlook is positive for ATS, with Steve citing the growth within the company as a key factor of the agency’s success. He talks about potential new offices in various locations, as well as the launch of new projects which will see a rapid expansion within the company.

“In the past few years, we have experienced excellent company growth mainly through client referrals. 2018 will see the opening of new offices in Melbourne, Australia and Shanghai, China.

“We are excited to be launching the Association of Australian Property Owners Living Abroad. The mission is to create a strong voice for Australian property owners living abroad to express their interests to government, industry and private organisations and make a sensible contribution to the protection and enhancement of the Australian property market for the safety and benefit of all.”

Acquisition International - January 2018 15

1712AI87

The Right Direction Company: Direct Lift Company Contact: Dave Embling Contact Email: dave@directliftco.co.uk Address: Unit 1a Grange Farm Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8JW, UK Phone: 01206 861686 Website: www.directliftco.co.uk

Direct Lift Company supplies servicing, repairs, modernisations and installations on all types of lifts for various clients, including Councils, Universities, NHS Public and Private sectors. We invited Dave Embling to tell us more about his successful company. irect Lift Co. are Lift Service and Maintenance Engineers with an overall mission of offering a first-class service to all clients, and encouraging all staff to participate in all aspects of the business. Speaking to Dave, he tells us what he believes differentiates the firm from its competitors, leading it to mark itself out as the best possible for prospective and existing clients.

D

“Separating ourselves out from the crowd, we believe in transparency at all stages of our work, many new clients are encouraged to use Direct Lift Co. through our reputation, many of our clients have remained with Direct Lift Co. for over ten years.”

Discussing how it feels to have been selected in the 2017 Global Excellence Awards as the leaders in Elevator Maintenance and Inspection within the UK, Dave comments on how honoured the firm are and what this means for the company.

“This is a great honour for Direct Lift Co. and all its staff, recognition of everyone’s hard work ensuring the company. This clarifies that everyone at Direct Lift Co. are doing their very best offering the best.”

“Direct Lift Co. ensure that we stay at the front of all competitors, using the most up to date software and technology, whilst remaining dedicated to all our clients offering a one to one service.”

Providing us with a brief overview of the industry within Essex at the moment, Dave points out that the market is currently very competitive in all aspects, alluding the nature of costs and quality, as well as customer service. He tells us what techniques the firm employs in order to stay ahead of emerging developments, and ensure it remains as one of the leaders in the sector, “The lift industry is very competitive in all aspects of lift engineering, cost and quality are at the forefront of every client, to which Direct Lift Co. strive to maintain.

“Direct Lift Co. ensure that we stay at the front of all competitors, using the most up to date software and technology, whilst remaining dedicated to all our clients offering a one to one service.”

16 Acquisition International - January 2018

An integral aspect of Direct Lift Co.’s success is the internal culture within the company, with Dave commenting on how this benefits the company in a spectacular way. Staff look forward to coming to work, and Dave talks about how the Directors allow and encourage staff to be open and honest with each other.

“Regarding the internal culture at Direct Lift Co., the aim is for all staff to remain happy and enjoy the work they do, and as directors we encourage input from each employee with regards to the day to day running of the company and strongly believe in give and take between employees and us as directors.”

Ultimately, going forwards, Dave predicts what the future holds for Direct Lift Co., hinting at gradual expansion within the company, alongside an appointment and order book bursting to the brim with appointments.

“Looking ahead, the future looks very good with order books full, continued support from existing and new clients. Future plans are to gradually expand into other geographical areas at a controlled rate ensuring Direct Lift Co remain No. 1.

“Lastly, Direct Lift Co. appreciates the support it receives from all our clients and we will continue to offer the Best Service at all times.”

1801AI40

Company: Law Firm Zavrsek LLC Contact: M.Sc. Roman Zavrsek Attorney at Law, Managing Partner Contact Email: zavrsek@zavrsek.si Address: Dalmatinova ulica 10, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia Phone: 00 386 1 430 40 96 Fax: 00 386 1 430 40 97 Mobile: 00 386 41 759 965 / 00 386 41 908 158 Skype/Facetime: zavrsek@ zavrsek.si Web Address: www.zavrsek.si

Representation Within the Courts Law Firm Zavrsek LLC is a small to medium sized law firm according to Slovenian standards, providing a broad range of services. Featuring in the 2017 Global Excellence Awards as Practice Leader of the Year 2017 in Slovenia, Managing Partner, M.Sc. Roman Zavrsek gives us an overview of this insightful and award-winning law firm. he lawyers at Law Firm Zavrsek possess a wide range of experience in different areas of law. Some of them have practised law in international organisations, governmental departments and offices before they joined the firm, which gives the practice a certain advantage over the competition. Law Firm Zavrsek’s good inside knowledge of the practice areas and functions of the international forum is also a certain safeguard for clients, who receive relevant information when needed. Roman outlines the services that the law firm offers, the companies it works with and the services they offer.

T

“Throughout the company, our lawyers offer legal representation, advisory services and experienced guidance to both local and foreign clients. The office’s multi-disciplinary approach is based on a full-service philosophy. Legal services provided by the office are governed by three main principles: personalization of the relationship with the client; the search for an optimal solution, and strict respect of confidentiality.”

“...the law firm is planning to upgrade its services using the appropriate and new technology, as well as AI.” Law Firm Zavrsek operates with a clear vision and mission, with Roman describing the firm’s eventual targets, highlighting innovation as a key aspect of the businesses success, and detailing what steps staff will take in order to achieve this.

“Innovation is very important to the law firm, and new investment to legal framework and concerning the IT are favoured into the law firm. The lawyers of the firm regularly follow the development on the field of new legal practices and IT law.”

Employing a multi-talented and diverse team, Roman comments on what he believes distinguishes Law Firm Zavrsek apart from the rest. He is keen to point out the excellent relationships that the company holds with its clients, including legal advisors, and he emphasises how important these relationships are to the firm.

“A clear distinction of our firm is the high quality of professional service rendered to our clients. The feelgood factor between the client and the legal advisor throughout the relationship is essential. This provides the relationship with a clear sense of confidence on the one hand, and a firm foundation to treat and solve all legal problems on the other.

“Essentially, our primary task is to meet the client’s needs and to safeguard their interests. The lawyers in office are familiar with different legal and business environments. Therefore, we have an advantage over our competitors. We closely follow trends in the global economy and cooperate with related field specialists: tax consultants, auditors, accountants and notaries.

This synergy ensures the law firm that the client is provided with the best possible advice and solutions.”

Describing the internal culture within the company, Roman explains that the thriving work environment leads to more work getting done and staff being much more motivated to achieve the firm’s overall goals.

“Working within a competitive industry, the internal culture is very important to the law firm since it raises the work efficiency. The law firm tries to be socially responsible and puts a lot of effort on the good relations between all employees and social climate.

All potential conflicts are solved in advance.”

Regarding the future of Law Firm Zavrsek, Roman outlines the future plans for the firm, and how the team will adapt to the constantly arising developments within the industry.

“Moving forward, the law firm is planning to extend its services to the field of unregulated services, as well as venturing into providing legal advice on crypto currencies, initial coin offering, blockchain applications, and many more.

“Ultimately, the law firm is planning to upgrade its services using the appropriate and new technology, as well as AI. Such an approach will offer more tailormade services to our clients and save time to the lawyers working on the case, and bring our services closer and more affordable to our clients.”

Acquisition International - January 2018 17

1712AI83

Company: Innovation Insurance Group, LLC Contact: Ty Sagalow Contact Email: tysagalow@ innovationinsurancegroup.com Address: Offices at Short Hills, 51 John F. Kennedy Parkway, First Floor West, Short Hills, New Jersey, 7078, USA Phone: 001 917 620 2174 Website: www. innovationinsurancegroup.com

Ty Sagalow: Redefining the Insurance Industry Innovation Insurance Group, LLC is a premier consulting firm to the insurance industry. Recently, we sat down with Ty Sagalow, our Insurtech/ Fintech Consultant of the Year. y, congratulations on being named AI’s Insurtech/Fintech Consultant of the Year. I must start off by saying I’m intrigued and interested. You’re described as an insurance veteran. But I think that with respect to your work in insurtech, it’s more appropriate to call you a spring chicken.

Thank-you for this prestigious award. In terms being an Insurtech veteran, I think its right that there are not any insurance veterans when it comes to insurtech. It’s really been around as an industry only since 2015, so that’s only two years ago as of today. In terms of the traditional insurance industry, while I’ve been around for 35 years, the insurance industry has been around for several hundred years, so perhaps it would be incorrect to call any living human being an insurance veteran.

T

You worked for significant insurance incumbents before you joined start-ups like Lemonade and more recently Premonition. What made you decide, what was the decision process for you to leave that traditional model behind and go with start-ups?

I built my entire career, and it was about 33 years in the traditional insurance industry, around innovation.

I saw that there was a need to be creative in the insurance industry. Since there aren’t too many folks in the insurance industry that have that as a goal, it was a nice foundation for a career because you always try to choose something that very few other people are doing. I was very happy doing that, and did some very, very cool things like create Y2K insurance and cyber insurance. At the time, I thought that was about as cool as the insurance industry can be.

“Eventually, I realized that true disruptive innovation can only come from outside the traditional insurance industry.”

Eventually, I realized that true disruptive innovation can only come from outside the traditional insurance industry. This is not just true of insurance. It is true of all industries. True disruptive innovation has to come from outside the industry itself. So, after 33 years in traditional insurance companies like AIG, where I was for 25 years, and Zurich, I went out on my own creating my own consulting company, really in search for disruptive innovation. I had no idea whether I would find it, and if I did find it I had no idea where I’d might end up.

18 Acquisition International - January 2018

So here you are with an industry that’s fundamentally flawed in many ways. You’ve had a 33-year career. What took you to Lemonade? How did you find that project?

Well, actually, Lemonade found me, which was really cool. Every day I would get phone calls from entrepreneurs that want to do something fascinating and they need an insurance product but the insurance product that they need doesn’t exist. Eventually they come to me and I create something new. So, it was on a day like any other where I got a phone call from an entrepreneur. He had a nice British so a little bit different than most folks that would call me in New York, and he wanted to meet me to talk to me about this new idea. He only knew three things at the time: he wanted to create a company called Lemonade, it would have something to do with the insurance industry, and it would some way be able to give back to the community. His name is Daniel Schreiber, one of the most brilliant people I know, a great executive, and eventually learned something about insurance, but in that first meeting he knew nothing about insurance.

I met with him and his co-founder, Shai Wininger, the CEO of Fiverr and probably one of the world’s greatest software coders and technology CEOs. We started with a name on the wall, Lemonade, and then after three days we brainstormed what type of insurance company it could be. They were kind enough to ask me afterwards to stick around and be the chief insurance officer of Lemonade and the CEO of Lemonade Insurance Company. It was a tremendous adventure. Lemonade quickly become the leader in the insurtech space growing to capture 1% of the NY renters market, for example, in nine months. It has been called the “Uber of Insurance” and issued over 100,000 policies in its first full year of operations.

Amazing. Your time with Lemonade ended in July of this year?

Correct. On July 1st of this year I transitioned off of Lemonade, having done the job I was hired to do.

With underwriting, claims, finance, legal functions established, company licenses in over 22 States and binding over 5,000 new policies every week, I was off to my next adventure.

Which landed where? Premonition I think is the name of the next company you got involved in?

Yes. I am so excited about my affiliation with Premonition. In July I started looking for the next Lemonade by what I mean is the next company that would severely disrupt the insurance industry.

Ty Sagalow: Redefining the Insurance Industry

INSURTECH ADVISOR AND SENIOR EXECUTIVE Ty Sagalow is an executive and advisor to the InsurTech industry. A founding member of founding Chief Insurance Officer of Lemonade, Mr. Sagalow acts as Chief Insurance Officer or Advisory Board Member for several InsurTech companies including Premonition, Metaiota, Assurely and others.

Founded in 2015, Lemonade is the first licensed and regulated InsureTech insurance company in the United States. Lemonade offers homeowners and renters insurance powered by artificial intelligence and behavioral economics. Launched in September 2016 in New York, Lemonade Insurance Company is operating in 8 states and licensed in 25 representing over 65% of the US population. Lemonade has been called the “Uber of Insurance.”

Prior to InsurTech, Mr. Sagalow was a globally recognized senior insurance executive veteran. Most of Ty’s career was spent at AIG where over a 25 year period he held various positions including Chief Underwriting Officer and General Counsel of AIG Executive Liability (D&O, E&O), Chief Operating Officer of AIG eBusiness Risk Solutions (Cyber insurance) and President of AIG Product Development. Following AIG, Mr. Sagalow was Chief Innovation Officer of Zurich North American and Chief Innovation Officer of Tower Group. Immediately prior to Lemonade, Ty founded Innovation Insurance Group, LLC, a premier consulting firm to the insurance industry.

Mr. Sagalow is considered on the world’s experts in innovation in the insurance industry having been credited with creating various insurance products including Y2k Insurance, (Entity Cover) Directors and Officers Insurance, Cyber insurance, Reputation Insurance, Collectible Authenticity Insurance and Intellectual Property Collateral Insurance. He is also the host of the series Innovations in Insurance With Ty Sagalow and What’s New in Insurance, both produced by World Risk and Insurance News.

Mr. Sagalow is a frequent author and speaker. His works include @Risk: Internet and E-Commerce Insurance and Reinsurance Legal Issues and Directors & Officers Insurance Handbook.

Mr. Sagalow has appeared on CNBC, WPIX-TV, FOX, PBS and Bloomberg Radio, and he has spoken before various tech, legal and insurance forums on issues including the White House, Department of Homeland Security, and Congress. For the past two years, Mr. Sagalow has been a frequent speaker on InsureTech issues and insurance innovation.

Mr. Sagalow is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and holds a LLM (Master of Laws) from New York University Law School.

You know, the co-founders of Premonition found me in much of the way that Lemonade found me. They began talking to me about an area of insurance which had long bothered me, the lack of a scientific method in managing and choosing outside counsel.

calculates “win rates”, which attorneys against which attorneys in which courthouses against which judges, in which types of cases are more likely to win. It is the Moneyball method of outside counsel selection based on data not instinct.

Tell us a little about what Premonition does?

Premonition has two fundamental value propositions.

First, it has the largest litigation database. 87% of all cases in the United States and in many other countries as well are in this database, which includes the judge, the plaintiff’s attorney, the defendant’s attorney, the venue, the duration of the case and the type of case.

Simply put, it has more data than all of the competitors combined, really phenomenal.

I see a connection between Lemonade and Premonition is that they’re both working with how artificial intelligence and transparency are transforming the space. Did you see that when you landed on Premonition? Did you see the connection?

Not right away but eventually I did. I think one of the drivers toward Premonition is the fact that it shares a couple of fundamental characteristics with Lemonade.

Both companies are based on using artificial intelligence to create transparency in the insurance industry. In many ways Premonition takes a step

The second value proposition is its artificial intelligence.

It is the algorithm that takes this massive database and

further than Lemonade by shinning a light on an area where there was no light, which is how do you logically select and manage your outside counsel based on how likely they are to achieve lower settlement and judgment costs? Indeed, using Premonition, you can lower not just your expense ratio but more importantly your loss ratio.

Ty, but please let me wrap this up with a final question, apart from Premonition, are you working with any other InsurTech start-ups?

Several. I am working with an exciting new company that is creating a customized investor protection product for crowdfunding companies and another which is working on an insurance product for pandemic risk. In each case, the client uses technology to help makes risks previously uninsurable insurable creating new products for the insurance industry.

Acquisition International - January 2018 19

1801AI32

Company: RAFT Contact: Leonor Stjepic Contact Email: ce@raft.ac.uk Address: Leopold Muller Building, Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, Middlesex, HA6 2RN, UK Phone: 01923 844 760 Web Address www.raft.ac.uk

Pioneering Treatments to Restore Patients’ Quality of Life RAFT is a medical research charity that carries out research to improve the quality of life of people whose lives have been severely impacted by injury. We invited CEO, Leonor Stjepic to provide us with an overview of the company and the role that she plays in its success.

AFT has its own scientists and surgeons working in all of their laboratories. In the last 30 years, RAFT’s research has had a lasting impact and over 100 of its research projects are now in hospitals around the world. Leonor starts off by outlining her role as CEO, explaining how it is her job to ensure that patients are delivered the best possible service and solutions possible.

R

“As CEO, my role is to ensure that our research is delivered to patients. I work to ensure that the quality of our research is the highest possible; ensuring that our limited resources are used in the best way possible and directing the raising of funds (RAFT receives no state funding). I see myself as a facilitator; it is my job to make sure that everything comes together so that the organisation can deliver the positive impact that will change people’s lives.”

Having achieved considerable success in her role as CEO, Leonor is quick to praise her staff and team members. Throughout the company, staff have considerable access to be free and achieve their potential, as everyone works together, and if a mistake is made or an issue arises, someone is always there to catch them on the other side.

“Work to be the best version of yourself that you can be rather than try to copy someone else.”

“The only way I can achieve this is by having a great team. One of the things that I have proven I am good at is spotting hidden talent in people and then encouraging people to move out of their comfort zone by trusting them to take on challenges. I see it akin as to when I was taught how to ride a bicycle as a child. I thought I was peddling on my own and it felt a little scary but exhilarating when I did it; what I did not realise was that my father was running beside me in case I fell off.”

Describing what has made her so successful in her role, Leonor points out that she has unrivalled motivation and ambition in many aspects, commenting

20 Acquisition International - January 2018

on the fact that she is incredibly driven and strives to make a difference.

“Fundamental to my accomplishments, I love a challenge, and this has been what has driven my career to date. It has not been a traditional route to the CEO role. I had to go to work to earn a living, so I had to take my business degree (and then MBA) whilst in full time employment. I have worked in merchant banking and in antique transport; in academic publishing; worked for a major record label as an administrator of their record studio; been a part-owner in a Knightsbridge art gallery and owned my own consultancy business. It was not until after I returned to the UK, from working as a volunteer with children and women who were victims of the Balkans war, that I entered the charity sector as a full-time employee.

Even then I started as a receptionist just to get my foot in the door before working my way up to CEO.” Working her way up the ladder, Leonor also cites her experience of having worked in an assortment of roles and sectors as integral to her and the company’s success. She emphasises how important a good working environment is to the success of a company, and RAFT clearly has a thriving internal culture in which everyone works together and gets on.

“Having performed a variety of roles and worked in so many different sectors, I have been able to take the best from each sector and bring it to each company that I have run. I have also learnt what not to do, and there is one thing that I will not tolerate in any organisation that I run and that is office politics. We do not do office politics at RAFT, and it is the one rule that we make sure all new staff understand because it is part of their induction. Our core values of teamwork, flexibility, professionalism, entrepreneurialism and innovation were chosen by our staff and they are not just words. We live and breathe them. They are one of the sets of criteria we use in the recruitment process for new staff and we use them in our staff training and team building. I believe in leading by example and being transparent. I do not hide bad news from staff and am prepared to admit when I have made a mistake or failed. By doing this, I hope to encourage a ‘no-blame’ culture and a culture where staff are

Pioneering Treatments to Restore Patients’ Quality of Life

encouraged to come forward if they have made a mistake. A mistake spotted early can be fixed.”

Honesty and transparency are Leonor’s key principles, and these stick with her throughout her role as CEO. She is honest and transparent with her team, and earning their trust and respect is important to the working relationship. If a person has not done well, then Leonor will tell them, and if they have not, she will also tell them.

Leonor is thrilled to have been selected as Female CEO of the Year 2017 within the UK, and she explains how she feels this is not just recognition of her work, but also a recognition of other women within the industry who can believe that they can be just as successful.

“On a personal level, it is always lovely to get recognition but I think it is very important for younger

women to see the achievements of senior women recognised. I was the first woman in my family to have a career and first started work in an era where there were virtually no female role models in business. It means a lot to me to have the opportunity to act as a role model for other women; if I can do it, anyone can.

It does take hard work, and compromise, but the most important advice I would pass on to anyone wanting to achieve success is to be authentic. Work to be the best version of yourself that you can be rather than try to copy someone else.”

In summary, having been honoured to have been selected for this award, Leonor is keen to state that this is not the limit of her and RAFT’s success. There are many plans going forward which Leonor refers us to, as there looks to be a very exciting future ahead for RAFT.

“Receiving this award has been a great boost for the end of 2017 but it is not the end of what we want to achieve. RAFT has a great number of plans to celebrate its 30th anniversary – from launching another spin-out company to take another of our inventions to patients; to setting up RAFT USA. Also, we are talking to a virtual reality company to create virtual reality laboratories for schools and hope to start a new programme of research into finding a cure for keloid scarring. RAFT is in the latest cohort of the Mayor’s International Business Programme run by the Mayor of London and we are excited about exploring the opportunities that will also bring.

“Ultimately, I am proud that, with the support of so many amazing people, I have been able to achieve a great deal to date, but I still think there is more that I can achieve.”

Acquisition International - January 2018 21

1801AI46

Company: NorelidHolm Advokatbyrå Contact: Susanna Norelid Contact Email: susanna. norelid@norelidholm.com Phone: +46-733 74 40 52 Address: Nybrokajen 5, P.O. Box 7394, Stockholm, SE-103 91, Sweden Website: www.norelidholm.com

Creating Excellence in Corporate Law NorelidHolm is a corporate law firm based in Stockholm, Sweden, which offers premium quality legal services. Susanna Norelid, Managing Partner, who was awarded Most Influential Woman in Insurance & Reinsurance Law 2017 – Sweden in our 2017 Global Excellence Awards, discusses the firm and her role in its phenomenal success. stablished in 2006, NorelidHolm offers premium quality legal services combined with a high degree of business knowledge.

Susanna discusses the firm’s service offering in more detail, exploring the practice areas it focuses on and how it works to ensure excellence for its clients.

markets and businesses and try to use the law as a tool to reach the goals set by our clients. Our clients can trust that we pay them full attention regardless of their size or what kind of legal matter they need us for.

Friendliness and collegiality in our client relationships with our clients and cooperation partners are key. The same goes amongst our colleagues within the firm.”

“At NorelidHolm, we offer legal assistance in most fields of business law and we are top-ranked within several areas of law. We represent both multinational and larger national companies as well as smaller local businesses. Many of our clients are industry leaders in their respective fields and the majority of our clients are foreign based corporations entering into the Nordic market. Through our international networks we can always assure our clients and collaborative partners efficient and professional cross border assistance.

Looking ahead, there are many exciting developments in the legal and corporate markets, and NorelidHolm’s dedication to innovation will ensure its continued success, as Susanna concludes.

E

“To ensure excellence for this vast array of clients, availability, flexibility, commitment, responsibility and results are in focus for our successful cooperation with them. However, there are other factors which differentiate our firm from other law firms. Such important key factor is our understanding of risk.

In-house counsels tend to be ahead of us external lawyers in that regard because they have – for natural reasons – a better and closer understanding of the corporation’s risk exposures. We work with clients and in environments which expect such skills as the norm.

We therefore focus on combining our excellent legal knowledge with business and project management skills and a better understanding of complex risk to meet and solve the challenges for our clients. We train our lawyers from the very start in those areas so that we can be our clients best advisors and put us a head of more traditional law firms.”

Additionally, a corporate focus ensures that the practice is able to offer a truly cutting edge service that meets the needs of its clients, as Susanna highlights.

“To ensure excellence for our clients, we try to be very business oriented and we always aim to reach the goals set by our clients in a business oriented way. We make sure we have a deep knowledge of our clients’

22 Acquisition International - January 2018

“Currently, Sweden’s economy is doing very well.

The Swedish market is attractive for foreign investors and corporations entering the Nordic region. That results in a good market for lawyers. With that said, I personally believe that the legal industry is experiencing a very challenging, but at the same time a very exciting and interesting, time. The technological advancement, an increasingly informed client base and new non-traditional market entrants force us traditional lawyers to be more efficient, more innovative and more business oriented than ever before. Innovation in services and service delivery will become a key differentiating factor and the ones focusing on continuing as they ever have will not have a chance. Most of the law firm leaders seem to agree that the main changes to the legal services market points towards a shift in how services are purchased.

Clients will buy services they need as and when they need them and from whom they find most suitable at the time.

“Certainty and predictability are also some key factors impacting our service delivery. Clients repeatedly ask for transparency and visibility from law firms on the work being undertaken and the cost for such work.

Fixed-fee services are now common place and the traditional model of a lawyer charging fees based on an hourly rate is gradually disappearing. It seems inevitable that lawyers face a future of change on a varied scale, depending on area of practice and client types. Business as usual is not an option for any result oriented and successful law firms, and as such at NorelidHolm our ongoing focus will be on innovation and continued development.”

1801AI25

Company: Rayes & Fagundes Advogados Associados Contact: João Paulo Fagundes Contact email: jfagundes@rfaa.com.br Address: Av. Chedid Jafet, 222 | Bloco C | 3º andar, São Paulo-SP, 04551-065, Brazil Telephone: + 55 11 3050 2150 Website: www.rfaa.com.br

Rayes & Fagundes: Making a Difference Rayes & Fagundes is a full-service law firm aiming to be different, to think different, and to find different solutions for its clients. We invited João Paulo Fagundes, one of the founding partners, to provide us with more information on the services that the firm offers. ayes & Fagundes is a law firm with its main offices located in the city of São Paulo. The firm has branches in three other important cities of the country (Campinas-SP, Belo Horizonte-MG and Rio de Janeiro-RJ), and also relies on independent local firms nationwide. Currently, the firm has around 100 lawyers, including partners and associates.

R

Joao Fagundes, Founding Partner

Typically, the team assist domestic and foreign clients, individuals and legal entities from different industries. It has also been an honour and pleasure for the firm to provide legal services to cultural and philanthropic organisations. Moreover, it is important to point out that the firm maintains partnerships and alliances with national and international organisations, such as IBA, Lexwork International, International Law Firms, among others.

João Paulo outlines the firm’s overall mission and describes what steps the firm will take in order to achieve this. Boasting an extensive portfolio and impressive track record, the practice is wellrenowned throughout Brazil, meaning it will be able to build on its success going forwards.

Ronaldo Rayes, Founding Partner

“Here at Rayes & Fagundes, we are 100% businessoriented and our work and advice are designed for performance and speed. This goal has been pursued with great determination and we are now recognised as a unique law firm. For consecutive years we have been ranked among the 30 most admired law firms in Brazil.”

Differentiating itself apart from its competitors, the firm’s boutique nature is part of its success, and João Paulo mentions how the team are struggling to keep the company size as small as possible. Keeping the size of the firm quite small enables the staff to adopt a personal approach, tailoring solutions to each individual client.

“While we are ranked among the largest and most admired Brazilian law firms, we struggle to keep the firm’s size as small as possible. We are recognisably large enough to assist and represent our clients in any type of transaction or case, from a simple one to a very sophisticated deal or a complex litigation. At the same time, we are able to ensure every client is provided with very personalised assistance.”

Featuring in the 2017 Global Excellence Awards as the Best Full-Service Law Firm 2017 within

Brazil, João Paulo tells us how it feels to have been selected for this award, and what techniques the firm employs internally in order to achieve this success.

“It is an honour to receive the award. Awards like this one means the recognition of years of work in the area and it has a positive effect both for the current firm’s clients as for the possible future ones.

We always try to hire the best lawyers in the market and we train, teach and push them to be different, to think different and to find solutions for our clients’ problems.”

Providing us with a brief overview of the industry, João Paulo comments on the political and economic issues that Brazil as a country is facing. He notes that although this presents a variety of challenges for the firm, it also opens up avenues and opportunities which the team will look to explore.

“Brazil has been facing a severe political and economic crisis. A few years ago, the country was downgraded in their degree of investment and has witnessed corruption scandals involving one of its major state company and large construction companies. This situation is a challenge for law firms (e.g. greater flexibility charging the fees to meet the needs of companies), but also brings many opportunities (e.g. assistance in the purchase and sale of assets, investment and disinvestment, reorganisations and others).”

Ultimately, with the challenges facing Brazil at the moment, the future for law firms is difficult to predict, but João Paulo is staying positive. He refers us to the many areas which Rayes & Fagundes has benefitted from and how this will help them establish themselves as a leader within the legal industry.

“Essentially, the crisis that has been affecting Brazil also brought many opportunities for the law firms.

As an example, we can mention the following areas: purchase and sale of assets (especially distressed ones) and restructuring of businesses and companies; judicial reorganisation proceedings; issues related to compliance and so forth.

“Moving forward, in the context of an increasingly globalised corporate landscape, the deals require legal assistance to be accurate, agile, and straightforward. Our firm is certainly able to provide advice with these features.”

Acquisition International - January 2018 23

1801AI13

Company: FineHeart Contact: Arnaud Mascarell Contact Email: contact@fine-heart.com Address: Hôpital Xavier Arnozan, Avenue du Haut Leveque, PESSAC, 33600, France Phone: 00 33 5 57 10 28 90 Website: www.fine-heart.com

Creating Innovative Technologies in the Cardiovascular Space FineHeart is a French medical device company focused on creating innovative technologies in the cardiovascular space. We profile the firm to find out more and explore how it came to be awarded Most Innovative Medical Device Company 2017 – France in our prestigious 2017 Global Excellence Awards.

stablished in 2010, FineHeart started with a vision of making a wirelessly powered, fully implantable, pulsatile circulatory support system that would overcome many of the challenges associated with left ventricular assist devices currently on market. It is a game changing therapy for long term circulatory assistance in severe heart failure patients.

The ICOMS is a hybrid system between a pacemaker and a LVAD which powers a mini-propeller, pulsatile and synchronized to the heart activity. As opposed to traditional LVAD aspirating in a continuous flow the blood arriving to the ventricle, the ICOMS is the only device in which the motor is placed through the wall of the heart, and where the blood is accelerated into the heart at each beat.

“...the ICOMS, Implantable Cardiac Output Management System, is able to optimize cardiac output while preserving the heart’s innate contractility.”

This unique innovation would not be possible without a dedicated team of thought-leaders, all of whom are committed to creating truly ground-breaking technology.

FineHeart was founded by a team of internationally renowned cardiologists and managers from the Medtech Industry, led by Arnaud Mascarell (CEO), Dr. Stéphane Garrigue (CSO) and Dr. Philippe Ritter, coinventor of cardiac resynchronization therapy.

E

Fundamentally, Heart Failure (HF) is the second leading cause of death in G20 countries. It is a degenerative disease with high mortality rates, repeated and extended hospitalizations. Critical HF with short life expectancy affects 13% of the total HF population every year. For a majority of them, there is no performing therapy. The current standard of care is medical therapy, until HF is advanced enough to warrant device-based intervention.

Patients who have failed to respond to CRT pacing are evaluated for left ventricular assist device (LVAD) placement. Currently available LVADs are large, cause substantial myocardial damage, are subject to infection and thrombosis risk, and are therefore used in a small proportion of the HF population.

The patented FineHeart invention, the ICOMS, Implantable Cardiac Output Management System, is able to optimize cardiac output while preserving the heart’s innate contractility.

24 Acquisition International - January 2018

To remain at the forefront of emerging developments in the market, this dedicated and talented team use a number of techniques including competitor surveys, technological updates, training, independent experts and consultants so that their technology would be always truly cutting edge and meet the ever-evolving needs of heart failure patients. The firm’s patient centred internal culture, ensures that every member of the team is constantly focused on the overall goal, and remains focused on creating solutions designed to support patients.

Ultimately, at FineHeart the overarching goal is to restore normal cardiac output and allow heart failure patients to return to a normal quality of life. To achieve this, going forward the firm will be seeking financing and/or strategic partnership to continue developing its ICOMS and start in the future clinical trials of its innovative therapy.

NEWS / From Around The World

US buyers set sights on UK market As US market valuations hit new heights on news of Trump’s tax plans, the UK marketplace should expect to see growing interest from US buyers in the year ahead.

But what is bringing them to our shores and how can UK businesses capitalise on sale opportunities?

Since the Brexit vote and falls in the value of sterling, which is down around 10 percent against the US dollar, US buyers have been on the look-out for investment opportunities in Britain.

Any acquisitions they choose to make represent good value for money at a time when US buyers are feeling flush due to strong equity markets and favourable domestic tax reforms.

Growing interest in the UK marketplace could also be due to other factors. The strong availability of finance in the UK means US buyers can maximise profits by borrowing in sterling in order to match sterling denominated UK profits. The rapid growth of British technology businesses also means there is a rich seam of talented, entrepreneurial businesses for them to target. This trend is especially evident in fintech.

Evidence that US buyers are ready and willing to invest in UK companies is easy to find. Apple recently announced its acquisition of the London-based music recognition app, Shazam, for an undisclosed sum, which has been reported to be around $400m (£300m) and both companies have spoken of ‘exciting plans for the future’. Similarly, Vantiv Inc has announced plans to merge with WorldPay – a leading UKbased payments company with global reach for $10.4bn (£9.3 billion) - and the deal is expected to complete on 16 January 2018.

Both transactions indicate the buying power of US corporates as they look to expand into new markets and the attractiveness of innovative technology businesses in the UK, regardless of whether they are listed or private businesses. In 2018, it is likely that US buyer interest will spread further to target a wide range of industry sectors.

Data from Mergermarket has recently confirmed that US buyers are already on the acquisition trail in the UK – with 134 deals involving US corporates reported in the first six months of 2017, representing 44 percent of all inbound acquisitions. This is unsurprising, as the UK has long been an attractive destination for US investors looking for a foothold in Europe for cultural reasons. There are also fewer restrictions in the UK regarding the types of companies that can be acquired without triggering the need for Government consent. With inbound M&A activity remaining strong in 2017, it seems Brexit uncertainty is not putting off international buyers and their interest seems set to continue in the year ahead.

A steady increase in the number of private-equity (PE)-backed companies in the US could also be driving international M&A activity. According to data compiled by US financial services firm, Robert W Baird & Co, the number of PE-backed businesses in America rose by more than 30 percent between 2011 and 2017. Such businesses are more likely to have a strategic growth plan in place and good lending conditions in the US also mean they have funds available to invest.

For well-managed UK businesses pursuing a sale, there is clearly an opportunity here. If they can demonstrate a solid trading performance and profitability, combined with strong leadership, they could attract US-buyer attention. With the expectation that US-led deal making could increase in 2018, prospective sellers should consider taking preparatory action now to maximise value and iron out any issues that might be off putting to investors – in particular, long-standing employee disputes that carry a risk of litigation should be settled where possible. Environmental issues are also a key due diligence item for US buyers. Among the assets that could prove especially attractive to US buyers are any intellectual property rights, particularly in view of the Patent Box tax relief that is available on profits generated by European and UK patents.

For this reason, it is important that patent and trade mark renewals are recorded and kept up to date.

Economic forecasters see benign conditions for the UK economy for year ahead, despite Brexit concerns, and this could mean another year of strong inbound M&A activity. UK businesses are well placed to attract US buyer attention and it should be possible to secure strong valuations. Readiness is key and businesses seeking to capitalise on the investment opportunity that exists should be preparing now.

Richard Wrigley is a partner at Shakespeare Martineau, specialising in advising clients on high-value corporate transactions.

Acquisition International - January 2018 25

1801AI01

Only the Best Will Do Company: Campo d’Oro Sas Contact: Paolo Licata Contact Email: info@campodoro.eu Address: Campo d’Oro di Licata Paolo & c. S.a.s., C.da Scunchipane, Sciacca, 92019, Italy Phone: 0039 0925 801 00 Website: www.campodoro.eu

Campo d’Oro produces an extensive line of preserves, continuing and restoring a family tradition that, for two generations has been dedicated to the production of Gourmet Specialities. We invited Paolo Licata to tell us how the firm came to win Best Traditional Preserved Goods Supplier 2017 – Europe in our prestigious Global Excellence Awards. or over three decades Campo d’ Oro has been producing a large quantity of gastronomic products, and today the firm’s range has evolved to meet the needs of its clients, as Paolo is eager to highlight.

F

“Over the years, our company evolved when it decided to continue its long standing family legacy passed on to Paolo Licata by his late father, a producer of a small line of locally sold foods in central Sicily and make his dream a reality. Initially, we started with fish based products but later expanded our production line in a way to provide the market with a wide variety of authentic Sicilian foodstuff that integrate local agriculture and the fruit and vegetables of the land. The company has been able to develop and considerably expand their selection to over 150 different products from antipasti, tomato and pesto sauces, pate’ and condiments featuring fresh seafood, marmalades and jams, sweet creams and spreads, and extra virgin olive oil.

“We feel no compromise is ever made on quality. It is always at the heart of what we do alongside the energy we feel we invest when combining tradition with a modern, up to date twist.”

“In order to satisfy the needs of our most valued customers, the production range has now been subdivided in to four different lines: Villa Reale, Villa Reale Supreme, Paolo Licata and Campo d’ Oro. The positive results achieved over the past years encourage us to expand our product range further.

We also seek to expand the brand in the international market. The international market has been very receptive to our lines which encourages us to invest further in business development. It is imperative though that our planned product and market growth will be supported by further investment in quality control in line with international standards. We pride ourselves in offering our clients only the best.”

To ensure that the best is always on offer, Campo d’ Oro has written excellence into its mission and is

26 Acquisition International - January 2018

constantly focused on providing only the highest possible quality products to its clients, as Paolo is keen to emphasise.

“Our overall mission is driven by a strong attention towards longstanding Sicilian food traditions aimed towards guaranteeing the products authenticity and quality. Knowing who you are as a company and defining that identity using all the senses is what we remain true to in our gastronomic creations. Our products must tell a story, evoke the imagination and please on the palate as much as visually. We do this by utilising the raw materials directly after the harvest, sustaining the ‘artisan approach’ and employing a methodology that transforms high quality raw materials into natural and delicious recipes. The products’ presentation has to depict its story and its taste to a certain degree so our mission dedicates the maximum time and energy towards the aesthetics of the packaging and its branding.

“It is this dedication to excellence that sets us apart from our competitors. We feel no compromise is ever made on quality. It is always at the heart of what we do alongside the energy we feel we invest when combining tradition with a modern, up to date twist. We are at the for front of our game and with our heavy investment and dedication to international food shows we strive to stay ahead of our competitors never giving into ‘new fads but retaining true to what we are. We believe with this as our source of inspiration we have sustained a successful business for over thirty years now.”

Looking ahead, Paolo believes that Campo d’Oro will continue to evolve and grow whilst maintaining the traditional values that have helped it achieve the phenomenal success it enjoys today.

“The future is about sustaining what you have whilst also allowing an organic growth to flourish. As such, at Campo d’Oro our future plans are always generated by a responsiveness to the market place. We operate in over 25 market places worldwide and I dare say we will not stop there, and as such there are many exciting trends to adapt around and new opportunities to take advantage of.”

1712AI77

Company: ISEC7 Group Contact Name: Marco Gocht Contact Email: marco.gocht@isec7.com Address: Schellerdamm 16, 21079 Hamburg, Germany Telephone: +49 40 325076 0 Web Address: www.isec7.com

The Experts in Enterprise Mobility The ISEC7 Group is an innovative global provider of mobile business services and software solutions. We interviewed Marco Gocht as we look to find out more about the success of the pioneering company and the range of solutions it offers. rawing on its vast industry experience, ISEC7 is an innovative company that was also one of the first to move into mobilising company and business space.

The company’s experts advise industries, public organisations, along with public authorities and service providers on all issues regarding the enhanced protection of mobile infrastructures. Marco offers an overview of the solutions and services that the firm provides.

D

“Here at ISEC7, we have developed mobile solutions for enterprise customers for more than 13 years now: The ISEC7 EMM Suite, a comprehensive globally applicable MDM solution, has been presented as the Most Innovative Enterprise Application. Additionally, ISEC7 Mobility for SAP allows access to SAP backend without the need for additional middleware.

“The solution ISEC7 Mobile Exchange Delegate ensures mobile access to Microsoft Outlook calendar, email and contacts from third parties via BlackBerry, Android or iPhone. ISEC7 Mobility Cloud is an innovative and ground-breaking Managed Service for the provision of customised Enterprise Mobility infrastructures based on EMM solutions like the ISEC7 EMM Suite, BlackBerry, MobileIron, Samsung EMM, Microsoft EMS or Airwatch.”

Working within the fast-paced market and investing a lot of research in mobile IT and the IoT, is a major factor in ISEC7 establishing itself as a leader within the industry.

Marco explains what techniques the firm employs in order to stay ahead of emerging developments.

“In order to stay ahead of upcoming developments, we exchange our vision with leading analysts and our partners on a regular basis to identify trends. Also, we spend a lot of time and money in evaluating products and design services around mobilization of business processes. What is even more important, is that we talk to our clients to identify their business needs and then adapt a mobile strategy to guide them towards the digital age.”

Being specialists in specific areas is one aspect which helps ISEC7 differentiate itself out apart from its competitors. Return business is a crucial aspect of the firm’s continuing success, and Marco tells us how most of the firm’s customers are long-term which highlights the fact that clients are satisfied with the work that the company offers.

“Uniquely in our market, at ISEC7 we are highly specialized and focus on enterprise mobility. We offer a 360-degree mobility portfolio including infrastructure, professional services, managed services, app

development and mobilization of business processes.

Beside our portfolio, our international footprint is unique for a company of our size.

“Operating our own legal entities in NA, EMEA and APAC, we can serve mid-market companies and large enterprises who run businesses on a global level. We are familiar with the current challenges and expectations with regards to security. Every customer is expecting a first-class solution and the best practices for their vertical businesses. Most of our customers are long term, and we work more in the model of a partnership than in that of a service provider. Our focus is on the value we can deliver to our customers due to our size, which allows us to flexibly adapt to our customers’ requirements.”

Throughout the company, there is an open-minded culture to ensure customers are happy and receive the best possible service. Employees have to regularly update their skillset and are constantly learning, with Marco highlighting the fact that staff have to prove their knowledge in order to help the company move forward.

“Every employee has to attend regular mandatory skill enablement classes regarding data protection and security to ensure customer data is confidential and secure. In addition, our employees have to prove their knowledge of the enterprise mobility market, according to their roles with a sales or technical focus, by passing all available certifications of the EMM vendors. ITIL, Prince2 or other project management skills are available for employees working in project. ISEC7 ensures that every employee gets the proper training which is required to ensure customer expectations.”

Overall, there are exciting times ahead for ISEC7, and Marco concludes by stating that the firm will continue to deliver the best services it possibly can, as it builds on its impressive portfolio.

“Looking to the future, ISEC7 will continue to deliver the best mobility services and solutions, become the number one vendor for enterprise mobility solutions and we will continue to grow our business organically and through further acquisitions.

“During the past months, we have further expanded our portfolio with view to mobile security and mobile productivity in order to even better consult our customers during their digital transformation process.

Even customers from highly regulated industries rely on our expertise and our mobile solutions, and looking ahead we aim to continue to provide them with the highest possible level of service to ensure we continue to meet their needs.”

Acquisition International - January 2018 27

1801AI16

Company: Heidrick & Struggles Contact: Daniel Edwards Address: 233 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 4958, Chicago, Illinois, 60606, USA Phone: 001 312 496 1593 Website: www.heidrick.com

Finding Transformative Leaders and Equipping Them to Succeed in Uncertain Times Heidrick & Struggles provides top organisations around the world with integrated solutions for all of their executive talent and leadership needs.

Here, we provide you with an interview with Daniel Edwards, Global Managing Partner of Heidrick & Struggles Private Equity Practice. irst, how does Heidrick & Struggles work with clients, and especially with PE funds?

Heidrick & Struggles serves the executive talent and leadership needs of the world’s top organisations as a premier provider of executive search, leadership assessment and development, organisation and team effectiveness, and culture shaping services.

F

Combining a deep understanding of private equity markets with world-class expertise across all major industries, our Private Equity Practice provides a broad range of value-adding services to private equity funds and their portfolio companies.

Sounds like Heidrick & Struggles has grown from its roots as an executive recruiter.

The firm pioneered the profession of retained executive search more than 60 years ago. Today, Heidrick & Struggles serves as a trusted advisor, providing integrated leadership solutions and working toward our purpose: To help our clients change the world, one leadership team at a time.

Sixty years ago! It feels like we are living in an entirely different world today than when your firm was founded. Businesses can become irrelevant virtually overnight. What is Heidrick & Struggles doing to stay relevant or even essential to its clients?

In a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty, the need for visionary leadership, differentiating talent and a thriving, purpose-driven culture has never been greater. We pride ourselves on finding top private equity management talent by recruiting investment professionals, operating partners, and other essential senior managers to create winning value creation growth strategies. Additionally, we work with private equity-backed portfolio companies to build high-performance leadership teams. Strong, visionary, and agile leaders in key roles can be the single most important differentiator and are essential to an organisation’s enduring competitive advantage.

The increasing pace of change in our world means

28 Acquisition International - January 2018

standing still is not going to be a winning strategy. At Heidrick & Struggles, we are especially focused on helping leaders transform their businesses.

How does a CEO move with certainty on a transformation agenda in uncertain times?

Leaders, teams and organisations need to be able to move quickly and with agility when market conditions are rapidly changing and future environments are unknown. Transformative leaders accelerate their company’s performance and create value for their investors even during times of uncertainty. We help our private equity clients find the talent necessary to implement their value creation strategy and deliver outsized returns to their investors.

When private equity funds pursue a deal that aligns with their investment thesis, it is critical to identify and bring onboard a talented leader who can be properly equipped to succeed with the transformation of the portfolio company and create value. Transformation needn’t mean quick but fleeting success but rather sustainable growth that begins with effective leadership assessments, succession planning, and culture building.

What is your firm’s approach to PE specifically?

Here at Heidrick & Strugglers, we pride ourselves on being a talent partner to the deal team and remain committed to sustained, multi-year coverage across the life cycle of a fund or deal, from raising and deploying capital to delivering superior returns. Also, work with private equity–backed portfolio companies to develop innovative solutions that meet today’s challenges while securing the leadership needed to deliver on tomorrow’s strategies.

In addition to executive search, we provide duediligence support, a steady pipeline of strategic introductions, curated thought leadership, private equity-centric assessment and performance acceleration services, and an evolving deal origination capability. Our global team includes industry and geographic experts, as well as functional experts in areas such as supply chain, digitalisation,

Finding Transformative Leaders and Equipping Them to Succeed in Uncertain Times

technology and operations, financial officers, human resources, marketing, compliance, risk, and legal infrastructure. We are prepared to share risk with private equity clients, and work across the entire life cycle of a potential deal to develop long-term strategic partnerships that build winning leadership teams and create substantial value.

Lastly, how does your management think about the talent at your own firm?

Ultimately, diversity in talent and leadership is critically important to a company’s performance. Whether it be in our own workforce or in the marketplace, inclusive companies attract and retain top talent, improve performance and innovate quickly. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is 360-degree inward and outward looking. As we continue to emphasise the importance of developing and growing talent within our firm, we will continue to invest in all of our people through thoughtful learning and development opportunities.

Acquisition International - January 2018 29

1801AI20

Company: Protostar Leadership Development Ltd. Contact: Michael Coates Contact Email: michael@protostar-uk.com Address: Portland House, Belmont Business Park, Durham, DH1 1TW, UK Phone: +44(0)191 3855455 Website: www.protostar-uk.com www.protostarsurveys.co.uk

Driving Innovation in Leadership Development Protostar Leadership Development supports managers from many leading organisations, utilising management consultants with at least 20 years senior management experience at global corporations. We caught up with Managing Director, Michael Coates to find out more about the firm and its drive to be innovative. teve Jobs famously said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”, and it is the connection between innovation and leadership that has helped drive UK management consultants, Protostar Leadership Development. Formed in 2007, it has weathered the global economic crisis and the amalgamation of many main players in the leadership development industry. Managing Director, Michael outlines how the firm has flourished since inception thanks to its innovative solutions.

S

“Here at Protostar, we specialise in developing and supporting leaders to be more effective and to have a more engaged workforce. We do this by diagnosing development or improvement areas through the use of tools such as employee surveys, focus groups, 360-degree feedback and personality profiles. Then, we develop bespoke, cost effective solutions that we deliver or source via other specialists. Typically, this will be tailored management development workshops, executive coaching and direct support for change projects.”

So far, this doesn’t sound that different from other such management consultancies, however Michael goes on to explain how they took an established approach and created something new.

“One of the main reasons we have thrived in such a competitive and uncertain market is that from day one we have aimed to be innovative in our approach.

For instance, back in 2009 we won our first innovation award for our 360-degree feedback tool that specifically assesses whether a manager has demonstrated the behaviours required to go through a period of organisational change or turmoil. Inevitably this was a popular service during the economic downturn, and continues to be used by clients implementing major change projects. It was, and probably still is, the only tool of its kind in the world.”

As the winners of Most Innovative Leadership Consultants 2017 – UK in our prestigious 2017 Global Excellence Awards, Protostar is committed to offering the most creative solutions and driving change in the

30 Acquisition International - January 2018

industry as a whole, as Michael is eager to emphasise when describing one of their other innovations.

“With organisations having more diverse employees and working globally, traditional employee surveys are becoming increasingly difficult to run, as for instance, how do you compare the results from your Beijing office to the New York office? Similarly, if your UK workforce consists of people from multiple cultures, many with English as a second language, how can you ensure that they interpret the typical employee engagement questions in the same way?”

To counter this, Michael has been involved in extensive research and his academic paper published in December 2016 “Examining The Cultural, Age and Gender Differences In Attitudes Toward Employee Engagement Surveys” (commons.emich.edu/gabc/ vol5/iss1/4/) won Best Paper Award at a Global communications conference.

His research highlights the key differences and potential pitfalls of assessing employee engagement in a multinational or diverse organisation, and this has allowed Protostar to differentiate their survey and focus group services from the competition. This has been ideal for organisations such as Momentum Services that provide the onboard service and lounge staff for Eurostar. The challenge Protostar faced was that the employees being surveyed were of multiple nationalities, rarely in an office (generally on a speeding train) and while most spoke reasonable English, they were more comfortable with their mother tongue. “Only by tackling the problem in an innovative manner and combining it with my research, was it able to be achieved with so much success.”

One of the major issues Michael and his team are facing as they look to the future is Brexit, and the uncertainty this will bring. However, this challenge also has its benefits, as Michael explains.

“The main challenge facing the management consultancy and in particular the leadership development industry within the UK, is of course Brexit. Despite all the rhetoric that it might be good for

Driving Innovation in Leadership Development Michael Coates Managing Director at Protostar

UK business, all we are seeing is that it has introduced great uncertainty in to every sector. As a result, organisations are not sure if they can invest in long term projects or where they will base their key staff, and are even unsure what skill sets will be required post Brexit. While we have a long track record of being agile and helping clients to adapt to change, this situation is proving to be quite a challenge. As a result, we are increasing the level of work we do outside the UK, and having an office in Mexico that is also only 90 minutes from Dallas, has proved to be highly beneficial.”

Despite the challenges Brexit will bring, looking ahead, Protostar will continue to adapt and innovate in order to remain at the cutting edge of this fast paced industry, as Michael concludes.

“Overall, the future is looking bright for Protostar, as we have a solid client base of international or large UK clients, plus a nice variety of SMEs that regularly return for more support. Our innovative approach to ensuring that clients only receive the most effective elements of a service and our push to promote Return on Investment as a means of measuring the support we provide, appears to be seen as a refreshing change from the traditional ‘charge high and for everything’ style that the consultancy industry is often labelled with.”

“To continue to meet our clients’ ever evolving needs, moving forward we are going to be focussing more on our diagnostic survey work and have formed a sister company Protostar Surveys” (www.protostarsurveys. co.uk) to promote that aspect of our services, and we are confident that this will result in significant international growth.”

Michael (sat centre right) with business leaders in Mexico

Acquisition International - January 2018 31

1801AI02

Company: R3Location Limited Name: Marco Previero Name: Anna Barker Address: 83 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0HW Phone: +44 0 203 463 9774 Email: info@r3location.co.uk Web: www.r3location.co.uk

R3Location: Trusted Relocation in a Complex City R3Location Limited offers an exceptional range of relocation services to companies moving assignees into London and the South East. We explore how this dedicated and professional firm has come to win Best for Relocation Services 2017 in our prestigious 2017 Global Excellence Awards. ondon is one of the most diverse capital cities in the world and the largest city in the United Kingdom with 30% of its 8.63 million residents born abroad: a number that rises to over 10 million during the day as commuters make their way into the City.

The Global Financial Centres Index (ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres) has ranked London first ahead of New York (in second place), and HK (third) and Singapore (fourth); and has done so consistently over the last few years.

L

Finding the right place to rent With size comes complexity in all areas of life – including one crucial aspect of it: finding the right place to rent and live. Unlike other major Cities, London has an independent network of Estate Agents (Realtors) all competing against each other, and vying for the attention of the same Landlords and prospective tenants. In this multi-listed world, it can often be difficult for outsiders to make sense of the rental market. Consider this: a recent survey indicated that more than 200 estate agents have opened in London in the past year. The City of Westminster has the greatest number at 228. The company carrying out the research found that there are some 2,900 estate agents in the Capital, outnumbering the total number of independent butchers, greengrocers and fishmongers. This is a staggering number, “particularly when you consider most people now start their property searches online” says R3Locations Director, Marco Previero.

A far from perfect market place This virtual market place isn’t perfect either. Online marketing details often portray the property in a better light, listings are not always up to date, and some of the more important information isn’t always present or accurate (e.g. is it still available, does it allow pets, what maintenance issues is it likely to have, will the Landlord consider a contractual break or an option to renew?). Even when criteria such as location and budget are well defined, online searches can be perplexing. A quick review of available properties on strict criteria for a threebedroom property in SW3 (Chelsea), for example, throws out 179 houses and flats, ranging from between £750 per week to £5,000 per week.

32 Acquisition International - January 2018

A similar search in SW7 (South Kensington) generates over 258 properties ranging from £10,000 a week to £595 a week. Yes, you’ve read that right. No wonder prospective tenants are left baffled and perplexed.

This leaves a gap in the market for support and advice on how to find the perfect property. Estate Agents are ultimately there to negotiate for the best interest of Landlords not tenants. Anna Barker, Director of R3location says: “Entering into a tenancy agreement is entering into a contractual arrangement. This gives important rights to tenants and landlords, but also sets out obligations and responsibilities for both parties.”

Not all rental agreements are the same – and Agents often develop their own in-house versions.

Most agreements need to be in line with conditions required by The Housing Act (this is true of Assured Shorthold Tenancies – most tenancies where the annual rent is less than £100,000 per annum), but this is not always the case. Prospective tenants don’t often think carefully before signing, pressured as they often are to finalise the deal. Alongside this, referencing can add to the frustration in what is becoming an increasingly more intricate world when it comes to compliance and data protection.

R3location: Filling the gap To fill this gap in the market, R3Location was established in 2011, and thanks to its dedicated staff and client focused approach, since inception, the firm has reaffirmed its position as a specialist provider to FTSE100 and Fortune 500 companies, and is widely seen, not just as a destination service company, but as a trusted adviser on all matters relating to relocation into the capital.

The company offers an exceptional range of bespoke, high quality relocation services to organisations moving key executives into London and the South East. It is a multiple-award winning business, and is the only Central London based destination services company in the relocation industry with offices in St James’s Park. In offering a range of bespoke services (ranging from preassignment and home finding support, through to ongoing tenancy and departure support), it leads

R3Location: Trusted Relocation in a Complex City

the way in how it delivers services, shares knowledge and best practice, communicates with the rest of the industry and acts as a trusted advisor to the mobility function of several large organisations.

The name R3Location stems from three interconnected areas: • R3Location spells Relocation; the firm’s name defines the industry in which it operates, and is a constant reminder of the need to continue to challenge itself to be true to its Market, its clients and its people in how it delivers services.

• It stands for three core areas of support; R3Location focuses on providing support across the initial stages of the assignment, including home finding, ongoing support and departure services.

• Finally, it defines three dimensions and strategic guiding principles; the challenging economic environment has resulted in an increasing need to focus on the fundamentals at the core of delivery: quality execution, regulatory compliance and a sense of partnership. As a result, the business philosophy of the company is simple: reliability, reputation and relationships.

Led by two industry veterans, Marco Previero and Anna Barker, with over 30 years’ experience between them, R3Location is proud to continue to push the boundaries and set the standard for local destination services.

Acquisition International - January 2018 33

1801AI28

Company: Studio Legale Fabiano Contact: Nicola Fabiano Contact Email: info@studiolegalefabiano.eu Address 1: Via Dante Alighieri n. 5 - 71121 Foggia (Italy) Phone 1: 0039.0881724724 Address 2: Via Luigi Tosti n.

3 - 00179 Rome (Italy) Phone 2: 0039.06.9291.8591 Website: www.studiolegalefabiano.eu

Intelligence and Discipline Studio Legale Fabiano is an Italian Law Firm supporting a wide range of clients across many practice areas. Nicola Fabiano tells us about the success of his firm, outlining what makes it so special. stablished in 1994, Studio Legale Fabiano has been recognised in the 2017 Global Excellence Awards as the Most Trusted Privacy & Data Protection Lawyers in Italy. The firm draws on the vast experience and expertise of Founder Nicola, who has been a lawyer since 1993, and acts as a Civil Law Specialist and Counsel of the Italian High Courts. Currently, he is responsible for the firm’s IT-Data Protection sector.

technologies resources and studying legal solutions for the market.”

Boasting a global presence, Nicola is a frequent speaker at international conferences where he presents his work on the relationship between innovation and the law, particularly regarding compliance with the Data Protection law.

“Essentially, our law firm is based on the human connections, and each member of staff collaborates with others under the supervision of the Partners.

This approach ensures that clients always receive the very highest standards of service and support at all times.”

Differentiating itself from its competitors, Studio Legale Fabiano is committed to innovation, guaranteeing it is able to stand out within the industry as a creative and original law firm.

E

Nicola outlines the firm’s overall mission to us, listing what steps he takes to ensure the company achieves this, as well as explaining how the firm integrates innovation into every aspect of its work.

“Throughout the company, staff work with the mission of providing legal services within the Italian Civil Law, focusing especially on the Data Protection, Privacy, Cybersecurity and Digital legal issues. For several months now, we are deepening on GDPR. We pay attention to the innovative phenomena such as, in the last time, Internet of Things and Blockchain.

Also, we focus on the innovations to achieve our goals taking care of our clients. Our view is to look much further ahead, and we believe in the Digital Innovation, Internet of Things, Blockchain and their applications.”

Adapting its services to suit the frequent and upcoming developments within the legal industry, is something which is very important to Studio Legale Fabiano. Nicola provides us with an overview of the industry currently within Italy, noting how important technology is in order to further advance the market as a whole.

“Here at Studio Legale Fabiano, we help to develop the industry sector, especially regarding the Industry 4.0 project. In our opinion, it is essential to invest in the ICT sector because in this way it is possible to grow both innovation and work opportunities.

“Additionally, we pay attention to the innovative solutions and applications, employing both new

34 Acquisition International - January 2018

Collaboration and teamwork are both vital aspects of the firm’s success. Nicola alludes to this when talking us through the internal culture within the practice, as he explains how he ensures that all staff are in the best possible position to provide an excellent service to clients at all times.

“Innovation is our primary commitment to guarantee the best solutions for our clients. Also, we invest in studies and new technology resources as we constantly look to reinvent and tailor our services to our clients.”

With regard to the global corporate landscape, Nicola comments on what advances he foresees within the sector, and how he and the firm will adapt around these.

“Looking ahead, we believe that the global professional sector is moving forward to a new innovative view and only if you are ready for this panorama you could address the challenges and provide an excellent service level.”

Ultimately, Nicola concludes the discussion by predicting what the future holds for Studio Legale Fabiano, commenting on the upcoming projects which are in the pipeline, as well as the firm’s main focus regarding GDPR. “Moving forward, there are many great projects which will help us to drive greater innovation and success. Nowadays, we are focusing on the GDPR and its applications such as cybersecurity measures.

As such, we will continue to work seriously in this area, and our commitment is to always guarantee a perfect level of professionalism.”

1712AI01

Innovative Ways Company: Spadafora De Rosa Studio Legale e Tributario Contact: Alessandro De Rosa Contact Email: a.derosa@ spadaforaderosa.com Address: Via di Trasone 52, Rome 00199, Italy Phone: 0039 0685 8221 Website: www.spadaforaderosa.com

Established in 2004, Spadafora De Rosa Law Firm has consolidated and developed its position in both national and international markets, constantly expanding its structure and the type of services offered to its customers, in Italy and in the world. Alessandro De Rosa lets us behind the scenes to find out more about the firm and its recent success. ith an ambitious management team, Spadafora De Rosa is constantly expanding, both in structure and services, which the law firm provides. With a diverse client base, mostly consisting of foreigners, Alessandro and the staff at Spadafora De Rosa have to be adaptable and ready to help the client any way they can. Alessandro sees this as a good thing however, as it means that the firm has to take the upmost responsibility for all its clients’ dealings and assets.

W

“90% of the clients of my firm are foreigners, so we need to assist them in any single moment of their initial investment in Italy, and in any single moment of the administrative process of the initial investment.

It is an amazing job because the client is hundreds of miles from us and we have 100% of the liability of the investment, meaning we are proud of the job we do in aiding our clients.”

Founded in 2004, the firm has direct offices and network offices all around the world. Alessandro explains that Spadafora De Rosa is a full-service firm in which they approach all areas directly or through the network offices. He explains how it feels for the company to win this award, highlighting that the staff and the team feel overjoyed when their high work ethic gets recognised.

“Working around the clock can take a lot out of employees and management. Therefore, to receive this award as the 2017 Recognised Leaders for Tax Services – Italy justifies the approach that we take.

We deserve every single step that we reach, 24/7 approach is a struggle that gives a lot of satisfactions.

This is one more award in our collection and there will be many more to come!”

Alessandro discusses the challenges that he and the firm have had to overcome during his time at Spadafora De Rosa, as well as talking about an incredible opportunity which has presented itself at the firm. Being the boss, Alessandro oversees all the areas that the firm specialises in.

Outlining how the firm helps its clients and ensures it provides them with the best possible service, Alessandro explains that staff at Spadafora De Rosa

helps to solve problems. Clients can call at any time and if a relationship is formed, the Law firm works very hard to maintain it.

“We solve problems, if they need us they call us and we tell them our fees and if they say yes, we secure the matter. Every client that everyone can imagine is a target, but mostly VIP individual, Billionaires, Multinational Companies etc. They are part of the process, absolutely, we work with them from start to finish”. Alessandro is travelling four days per week to keep strong personal relationships with his clients.

Travelling to Moscow, London, Monaco, Milan and Miami for monthly appointments.

“Finally, by expanding our offices, we are looking to increase our client base all over the world.”

Acquisition International - January 2018 35

1801AI39

Company: Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum Contact: Sylvia W. Y. Siu, JP Address: 9/F, York House, The Landmark, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong Phone: +852 2909 7318; + 852 5118 8388 Email: sylviasiu@sfks.com.hk sylviawysiujp@gmail.com

Dedication to Mediation Hong Kong based law firm Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum has over ninety members, all of whom work towards providing their clients with the very highest standards of support and service. Sylvia W. Y. Siu, JP, who has been recognised as Most Influential Woman in Alternative Dispute Resolution 2017 - Hong Kong in our prestigious 2017 Global Excellence Awards, talks us through the firm, its service offering and her role in its phenomenal success. ince its inception in 1981, Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum has grown to become one of the major local law firms in Hong Kong. Today, the firm offers a wide spectrum of practice areas including corporate and commercial, intellectual property, dispute resolution, conveyancing and probate, trusts, and information technology. Sylvia explores her role in the firm and how she works to meet the exceptionally high standards her clients have come to expect.

S

“Personally, I am a Consultant of Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum, handling litigation, arbitration and mediation cases. Since joining the firm in 1986, I have been guided by the motto ‘Serve clients respectfully, apply law professionally, and render work effectively.’”

Sylvia obtained a Master in Business Admission from the University of Santa Clara, USA as well as a Master in Law from the University of Hong Kong. She became a member of the China-Appointed Attesting Officers; Accredited Mediator of the Law Society of Hong Kong, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, Hong Kong Mediation Centre, CEDR (UK), Hong Kong Mediation Accreditation Association Limited; Mediator on panel of CCPIT, Dongguan Court, China & Macau Arbitration Center; Arbitrator of CIETAC, HKIAC, Wenzhou, Guangzhou, Huizhou Arbitration Commission etc; Member of Department of Justice’s Working Party on Mediation; Founding President of China Chapter of Club Espanol del Arbitraje; Member of Department of Justice’s Working Party on the Reform of Arbitration Ordinance; Past President of Hong Kong Mediation Centre; Past President of Hong Kong Federation of Women Lawyers.

“Since 1984, I have been a practicing solicitor in Hong Kong, and admitted (although not practicing) as solicitor in the Supreme Court of the UK, Barrister and Solicitor of The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, & Advocate and Solicitor of The Supreme Court of Singapore. Frequently, I am invited as a speaker at international ADR Conferences and a lecturer in ADR. Also, I enjoy the interchange of knowledge and insight with industry peers.”

Though commonly mediation is an optional method of resolving disputes between litigious parties,

36 Acquisition International - January 2018

in Hong Kong, attending mediation is highly encouraged in most civil proceedings. In fact, in Hong Kong mediation is now an integral step to the legal process. All litigation lawyers are required to inform clients of the option and desirability of resolving disputes by mediation. Although mediation was introduced as a voluntary process by Practice Direction 31 issued by the Judiciary, it is mandatory for all litigation lawyers to inform clients of the option and desirability of resolving disputes by mediation.

Parties who refuse to or do not attempt mediation without good cause may be penalized with costs sanctions. Various other practice directions have since been issued by the Judiciary for different types of civil proceedings, such as Family, Personal Injuries, Employees’ Compensation, Probate and Administration of Estate and Compulsory Sale under the Land Ordinance. Additionally, the Mediation Coordinator’s Office has been set up at the High Court by the Judiciary to enable and assist the general public with the mediation process, by providing them with informative videos and reading materials. As such, Sylvia is proud to offer this service and support her clients through often incredibly tough times, as she discusses.

“Mediation has definitely grown in popularity, throughout East Asia and is now not only in common law jurisdictions. In fact, the practise of mediation has been around for a long time in China.

Nowadays, mediation has changed and is now conducted in a much more structured way; mediators are trained and accredited. The mediator, an independent third party would facilitate the mediation process, with private session and joint sessions, and would observe confidentiality and use of mediation skills such as reframing, BATNA & WATNA, as well as various questioning techniques.”

To promote a culture of best practice and professionalism in mediation, the Hong Kong Mediation Accreditation Association Limited (HKMAAL) was established in 2012. It is tasked to set standards and accredit mediators, supervisors, assessors, trainers, coaches and other professionals involved in mediation in Hong Kong upon passing the assessments.

Dedication to Mediation At Hong Kong Mediation Centre's 10th Anniversary with Sir Laurence Street Mediation is now conducted in Hong Kong by trained mediators in a structured process, consistent with the preferred facilitative approach. The Mediation Ordinance has been enacted in 2013, to define amongst other matters the scope of confidentiality: mediators and parties to mediation are required to keep confidential all information generated in the course of mediation, save for the limited exceptions listed in the Ordinance. Parties are prohibited from submitting documents obtained during the mediation process as evidence in subsequent if proceedings should settlement fail. Sylvia is eager to emphasise the benefits of this technique and how it can help many participants.

“Fundamentally, it is my belief that mediation suits most civil cases, particularly where there is an element of human relationships in matters such as family, probate, or shareholder disputes. In addition, commercial cases are often suitable where parties want to have a cost effective and speedy resolution.

“This is because mediation is a neutral process involving an unbiased mediator, allowing the matters to be kept confidential, and both parties can appoint and approve the mediator giving both parties a sense of control over the outcome.”

With the Silk Road Initiative, Sylvia and the team at Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum are prepared to serve their customers moving into the international markets, as she explains in her concluding comments.

“Recently, I have had the privilege of working and sharing my knowledge around the world. Working with different organisations in East Asia in promoting mediation as an alternative dispute resolution method has been rewarding. My involvement has been diverse: I have become the President of Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators, Vice Chair of the Guangzhou, Hong Kong; Macao Mediation Alliance; the Alternative Dispute Resolution chair of the Hong Kong Federation of Women Lawyers; the Vice Chair of Nansha International Arbitration Centre in Nansha District, Guangzhou, PRC; and the Founder of the Hong Kong Mediation Centre which is founding member of Asian Mediation Association. Holding various positions has enabled me to broaden my knowledge, deepen my belief that mediation can bring benefits to a wide variety of disputes, thus equipping me to meaningfully and passionately share and promote mediation.

Received Pro Bono Distinguished Award from Chief Justice Mr Geoffrey Ma SC

Alongside this, I was also honoured to be the Asian representative at the World Mediation Forum, lectured at National Judges College in Beijing, Dongguan Court, Tsinghua University etc, and have spoken at many international conferences relating to mediation.

Being involved in different jurisdictions has exposed me to various cultures and local customs. Despite the differences, there is always one thing in common between the countries in the East Asian region - in most cases involving mediation, the parties want to actively solve the problem together; and that bodes well for the future of mediation. As such, I am excited to be at the forefront of the development of this dynamic, emerging form of ADR and look forward to the developments that the future has in store.”

Acquisition International - January 2018 37

1801AI57

Company: Marvin J. Huberman LL.B, LL.M. Specialist in Commercial Litigation & Arbitration Contact: Marvin J. Huberman Contact Email: mhuberman@ marvinhuberman.com Address: 20 Dundas Street W., Suite 1039, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2C2, Canada Phone: 001 416 646 1372 Website: www.marvinhuberman.com

A Specialist in Commercial Litigation & Arbitration: Toronto, Ontario Marvin J. Huberman, LL.B., LL.M (ADR), C.Arb, C.S. (Commercial Litigation) is a senior business lawyer, mediator, commercial arbitrator and former administrative judge based in Toronto, Ontario.

We profiled Marvin to find out more about his company and what work he does to help clients. hroughout a legal career spanning over 30 years, Mr. Huberman has consistently appeared at the forefront of the industry, dedicating his knowledge, experience and energy to developing and advancing the legal profession. He holds a Master of Laws degree in alternative dispute resolution and is a certified specialist in civil litigation, and is a prolific author, speaker, legal instructor, award recipient, counsel on numerous reported cases, and member, chair and director of various legal committees, task forces and associations.

T

Furthermore, Mr. Huberman is always striving for the highest quality professionalism. Mr. Huberman’s philosophy of meeting and exceeding professional standards is the driving force behind the high-calibre legal work he applies to every case. He serves individual and business clients, financial institutions, governments and other lawyers, acting in a variety of areas, notably as a mediator in business disputes and a commercial arbitrator in business and insurance disputes.

Acting as a legal counsel in other sectors, Mr. Huberman also works in securities, corporate governance and shareholder matters; transportation litigation, and cross-border litigation. He also works in matters involving intellectual property rights, high technology strategy and real estate and landlordtenant issues.

It is clear from his extensive experience that Mr. Huberman is a well-respected and talented lawyer, as along with his in-depth knowledge of the sector, he is also versatile and adaptable, adapting to each situation and process as it arises. Adding further strings to his bow, Mr. Huberman also operates within commercial insurance law, constitutional, human right, public and administrative law, along with professional liability and commercial insurance disputes.

As an appointed member of Ontario’s Court Civil Rules Committee, Mr. Huberman thoroughly

38 Acquisition International - January 2018

understands the rules of civil procedure and plays a vital role in creating them. This added dimension of expertise backs his record of success in litigating cases before all levels of trial and appellate courts and numerous administrative tribunals.

Regarding mediation services, since 1997, Mr. Huberman has mediated hundreds of legal cases throughout Toronto and Ontario. He has a proven track record of settlement in mediating insurance cases and a wide variety of commercial law matters.

Although his dispute resolution practice also includes acting as an arbitrator, Mr. Huberman recognises the specialised skill set needed to make mediation a success.

Upholding his sterling reputation, Mr. Huberman implements his core values of a decades-long practice into all his work. He strives mightily to integrate respect for the profession’s ideals and traditions into a strong sense of community and greater good. The three pillars of his practice are built on: Client focus — Mr. Huberman holds himself to a duty of fidelity toward all clients as he works to win them their rightful due from society.

Community — Mr. Huberman feels a strong obligation to the courts, to our system of law and to the community as a whole. He works sincerely and continually at refining his qualifications, skills and personal qualities while administering the law.

Conscience — Mr. Huberman is dedicated to high moral standards and using ethical means to pursue an ethical end, both in the legal profession and in life Ultimately, clients can work with Marvin J. Huberman knowing that they will receive the best results, as he utilises his experience and knowledge to always find the best solution. His incredible track record is a key reason why Mr. Huberman stands out in the industry apart from his competitors.

1712AI36

Flying the Flag Company: KPMG Contact: Jason Kazilimani Contact Email: jkazilimani@kpmg.com Address: First Floor Eluda Two, Addis Ababa Roundabout, Rhodes Park, Lusaka, Zambia Phone: 00260 211 372 911 Website: www.kpmg.com

KPMG Zambia is a professional services firm that provides Audit, Tax and Advisory services of an international standard. Jason Kazilimani provides us with an overview of the company and himself, demonstrating why he has been so successful. n Zambia, KPMG’s local practice has been in continuous operation since 1954, possessing five Partners and upward of 120 members of staff. Jason tells us what an honour it is to be selected in the 2017 Global Excellence Awards as CEO of the Year 2017 – Zambia, before explaining what it means for the firm in the future.

I

“Firstly, it is a great honour to be selected for this award, but beyond me being recognised as the winning CEO, a great deal of credit must go out to the fantastic team of professionals that I work with and the brand that we represent.

“Secondly, for me and my team, it means we are doing something right and rather than become complacent, it is an indicator to work harder to continue to provide the highest quality services to its clients.”

Moving forward with this success, Jason outlines the overall mission of KPMG, explaining what steps the firm will take in order to achieve this. Integrating innovation into every aspect of its work, Jason explains that the firm wants to mark itself out as the best possible option for clients.

“Here at KPMG, our values define who we are, what we do, and how we approach our work. KPMG staff worldwide are committed to providing top quality services in conformity with our values, ethical standards and rules of transparency. Quite simply, we want to be the Clear Choice of professional services firm.”

Furthermore, this mission is what helps the company differentiate itself from its competitors. With all staff having a clear outline of what they are expected to achieve, there is a clear culture of success ahead for KPMG, which comes about from a happy working environment. This exciting internal culture is a fine example of Jason’s exceptional leadership, as he provides an honest and open environment in which all staff have a voice.

“Essentially, our unique culture differentiates us, we call it the KPMG difference. We do not want to be the biggest professional services firm. We want to be the clear choice by, attracting and keeping the best people, winning the best mandates, doing the best work for the best clients and being the most trusted firm.”

members have the opportunity and the confidence to speak up if they are unsure or uncomfortable with a situation. To ensure that our staff are able to service clients properly and to give them the confidence and necessary soft skills, we invest heavily in technical training and staff development. Under my leadership we have also added a system of staff rotations with global practices. At any given time, up to 5% of our workforce are based abroad for further development and I am proud to say that we have high performing staff based in the US, UK and South Africa right now.”

There is clearly a lot to look forward to for KPMG Zambia, with Jason evidently excited about the future.

He refers to the way in which the team has transformed the company, expanded a huge amount, and hints at even more growth, with no signs of slowing down.

“Looking ahead, I am very optimistic about the future of my practice. Over the next 36 months, we have a bold programme to improve all of our back-end systems, staff training and mentorship structures. As that comes on stream, clients can look forward to even greater levels of efficiency in our service delivery. Since 2011 we have transformed this firm, doubled its size, expanded the client base and we have no intention of slowing down in our quest to provide the very best in professional services and become your clear choice.”

Throughout the country, Zambia offers an exciting investment opportunity with a fast changing landscape, intense competition in some industries and little in others. To keep ahead of emerging developments, KPMG must invest significant resources both locally and globally in knowledge gathering and management.

The team works closely with the government, regulatory agencies and captains of industry to ensure that it has a finger on the pulse and a sense of what is going to happen next. In his concluding comments, Jason cannot sing the praises of working in Zambia highly enough.

“In closing, let me fly the flag for Zambia. My view is that in analysing the range of opportunities that this country offers, many observers have a very narrow view, dominated by mining, overlooking the brilliant agricultural, manufacturing and logistical opportunities that exist. My advice to investors looking at Zambia, is to engage a credible advisor, research your prospects thoroughly and make bold investments.”

“Moreover, I like to think that we have a good, modern culture. One in which even the most junior team

Acquisition International - January 2018 39

1801AI19

Helping the Individual Company: Taurus Infotek Contact: Manoj Palwe, President Contact Email: manomegh2002@yahoo.com Contact Email: dreamvisas@yahoo.com Contact Email: team@dreamvisas.com Address: 16/1, Siddharth Chambers, Pune, Maharashtra, 411004, India Phone: 0091 20 25438284 Website: www.dreamvisas.com

Taurus Infotek aims to help individuals and families get Visas, before helping them migrate to foreign countries with authentic and legal documents. We profiled the firm and invited Founder and President, Manoj Palwe to tell us more about the company and its overwhelming success. aurus is a premier Immigration Consultancy firm focusing primarily on Canada and Australia. With over 17 years of experience, Taurus has established itself as a leading organisation in the migration industry. Manoj starts off by talking about the immigration sector and what challenges the firm is looking to combat.

T

“Within the industry, Canada and Australia have become particularly favourable destinations for those looking to migrate and relocate. Within our industry there are firms that operate illegally and without proper government authorisation, and it is our belief that tougher restrictions would combat this challenge.”

Standing in sharp contrast amidst them is Taurus, which was founded in 2000 by Manoj, a member of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council, Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants, and an Australian migration offshore agent, who has successfully migrated over 10000 clients. This Pune headquartered company has grown rapidly with clients across Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi & abroad, to whom it provides 360° immigration services (PR Visa, Investment visas Visa, IELTS training and more) for Canada and Australia.

Working with the vision of helping individuals legally settle in other places, Manoj outlines to us the firm’s overall mission, listing what steps the firm plans to take in order to achieve this. He talks about the firm’s impressive track record, and how this success has helped from the company’s goals.

“Transparency and honesty is the cornerstone of Taurus, and it has an unblemished record of consistent performance, as is evident from the numerous reviews and testimonials given by thousands of happy clients. Our aim is to make visa processing as error free, easy to do and the least time consuming for our clients as possible. In order to achieve this, we have implemented various systems, including a three-level inspection, scrutiny and transparency.

“Essentially, we combine the latest tools with various training techniques in order to keep our staff updated on latest events in immigration, so that they are wellinformed in order to assist clients on their immigration journey.”

40 Acquisition International - January 2018

Going the extra mile, Taurus enables its clients with qualification assessment, IELTS training and personal evaluation services and legal assistance.

In fact, Taurus invites members of Canada Immigrant Integration Program (CIIP) to deliver seminars for its clients to further educate them and make integration into Canadian society. The company eliminates unnecessary delays by handholding clients throughout the process. Taurus’ associates and representatives are spread worldwide, who render post landing services (pickup services, finding accommodation, opening bank account, finding job opportunity, helping in locating excellent school districts, providing information about driver’s licenses and others to the new migrants to make their life smoother.

Regarding the future, there is a lot to look forward to for Taurus. Manoj comments on what aspects of the business the firm will look to build upon, and further establish itself as a leading competitor within the market. He signs off by referring to the future plans for the company, continuing to deliver the best possible service and capitalise this in order to make the firm a market leader.

“To build such an impressive workforce, Taurus empowers its associates by conducting regular continuous professional development and practice management courses. Daily stand up meetings are also a part of the company culture so that everyone is updated on the various stages the team’s clients are at. New ideas and opportunities are openly discussed in a free and open work culture.

“Ultimately, the company aims to serve PAN India and pledges to continue to deliver the best-in-class immigration services. Taurus plans to focus more on investment based immigration like the EB5 visa for U.S., and on Business Entrepreneurship Related Migration Visa along with Student and Education related visas.”

1801AI46

Company: Chalos & Co, P.C. Contact: Michelle Valdes Contact Email: mov@chaloslaw.com Address: 2030 Douglas Road, Suite 117, Coral Gables, Florida, 33134, USA Phone: 001 305 377 3700 Web Address: www.chaloslaw.com

Chalos & Co: The Legal Firm Famed for Superior Service Chalos & Co. is a globally recognized law firm dedicated to servicing its client’s needs wherever and whenever necessary by offering 24/7 support. We spoke to Michelle Valdes to find out how she has driven her firm to success and won the coveted title of Most Influential Woman in Admiralty & Maritime Law 2017 – Florida in our prestigious 2017 Global Excellence Awards. n today’s competitive and complex global economy, Chalos & Co insists that each of its clients receive individualized service and the necessary expertise required for them to achieve success.

I

The firm represents a variety of foreign and domestic corporations, insurers (both domestic and foreign), brokers, third-party claims administrators, shipowners, charterers, ship managers, protection and indemnity associations (P&I Clubs), energy companies, oil and gas exploration, refiners and transportation companies, manufacturers, shipyards, importers/exporters, stevedores, marinas, boat builders and a wide variety array of other individuals, professional firms and associations linked to the maritime industry. Michelle explains how the firm works to ensure these valued clients receive the solutions and service they need.

“At Chalos & Co, the clients’ needs come first and drive our focus to achieve objectives in the most pragmatic and cost-effective manner possible.

Recognizing that our clients entrust the firm to handle critical and complex legal problems, we are committed to deliver unsurpassed service and the best achievable results. Our proven ability to resolve problems in a realistic, cost effective and resultoriented way is our hallmark.

“What differentiates the firm from our competitors and marks us out as the best possible option for this vast array of clients is our breadth of knowledge of the industry and the fact that we practice maritime law exclusively, with many of us having worked in the maritime industry before working in this field of law. In addition, we are willing to learn the ins and outs of a client’s daily operations—from its products or services, to its management and corporate structure. This allows us to provide the kind of focused and practical legal advice useful to clients making business decisions. In fact, the ability to deliver meaningful legal advice—that is both grounded in practical business realities and also effectively anticipates issues on the horizon—is one of the most significant ways the firm distinguishes

itself, elevating a firm to a company’s trusted, go-to legal advisor.”

This superior knowledge has helped Michelle and the team at Chalos & Co to the success they enjoy today, as she is eager to highlight.

“Through our boutique practice, we have developed an acute understanding of key business issues effecting the businesses and professionals we serve.

Our clients can be sure to stay ahead of the game, confident that we keep on top of the latest issues for their businesses, follow trends, attend practice area events and consult with industry leaders and organizations. The firm is successful because it has a focus and each lawyer develops specialized expertise consistent with the firm’s mission. The firm also recognizes that ‘quality work’ has a dual meaning: technical quality (how good is the work?) and service quality (did the client have a positive experience dealing with the firm?). Unfortunately, quality work in most law firms is like Justice Potter Stewart’s informal definition of obscenity, ‘you know it when you see it.’ This ad-hoc and subjective approach to quality legal work exists because no standards or evaluation procedures exist in most firms. Clients value lawyers and law firms who know how to communicate and are sensitive to their needs and concerns, and as such we aim to provide this through our service offering.”

Looking to the future, Michelle foresees even greater achievements for Chalos & Co as the firm seeks to continue offering clients the truly exceptional services that it has come to pride itself on.

“Overall, Chalos & Co has a bright and exciting future ahead as we seek to evolve and develop to meet our clients’ ever changing needs. Our Miami office was created in 2012 and has grown from a single lawyer in that office to four lawyers, plus various legal staff.

Since all of the firm’s decisions and efforts have been focused on what is in the best long-term interests of clients, this has been a winning strategy for our firm that we will be employing moving forward to continue to grow it and build upon our current success.”

Acquisition International - January 2018 41

1801AI02

Company: Blaige & Company Contact: Thomas Blaige Contact Email: tblaige@blaige.com Address: One Magnificent Mile, Suite 1080, (980 North Michigan Avenue), Chicago, Illinois, 60611, USA Phone: 00312 337 5200 Website: www.blaige.com

Pure Focus.

Premier Value.

Blaige & Company sets the industry standard in plastics, packaging, and chemicals investment banking. As we go behind the scenes to explore the secrets of its success, we profile the company and invite Thomas Blaige to tell us more about the exciting and ambitious firm. stablished in 2003, Blaige & Company is exclusively dedicated to the packaging, plastics, and chemicals industries. This singular focus has allowed the firm to acquire deeper knowledge and insights that bring premier value to its clients. Whether considering a merger, sale, or equity financing for an acquisition, the Blaige team will bring significant negotiating and value-enhancing power to clients as an industry dedicated advisor with unmatched experience in strategy and operations.

E

Furthermore, Blaige & Company’s senior advisory professionals have personally managed, owned or visited over 600 plastics operations in 40 countries and completed over 200 valueenhancing transactions in packaging, plastics, and chemicals. Blaige & Company was recently named

by Acquisition International as “Sector Focused Investment Banking Firm of the Year 2017,” its third time since 2013.

Thomas starts off by providing us with an overview of the services that the company offers, the solutions it comes up with, and what clients the firm typically deal with. He refers us to the high-profile clients that his team works with as a sign of the company’s ultimate success.

“First, here at Blaige, we engage in the exclusive representation of clients in sell side, buy side, funding, and related transactions, including private equity portfolio divestitures, strategic acquisitions, corporate divestitures, private placements of equity, MBO, debt placements, private company sales, and valuation opinions.”

“Second, we are highly selective and we do not compete primarily on price. For example, we have had engagements with Mitsubishi International and Constantia Flexibles AG, and sales to global consolidators such as Sigma Plastics, Inteplast Group, Coveris, and Klockner Pentaplast. These assignments involve corporate divestiture, strategic sale/recapitalisation, and strategic acquisition advisory services. We travel and participate in key industry events worldwide, and estimate that 40% of our assignments will involve work on behalf of

42 Acquisition International - January 2018

international clients. Regarding work for sponsors, our professionals have completed transactions with or on behalf of over 80 private equity sponsors.”

Having alluded to the success of the firm by discussing the well-renowned clientele of Blaige & Company, Thomas tells us how it feels for this success to be recognised by Acquisition International, and what the firm plans to do to capitalise on this acknowledgement.

“Growing over the last fifteen years to build a reputation as a global industry expert has been a truly rewarding experience. It is a credit to our team, whose dedication has driven us to consistently exceed the expectations of our clients.”

“Winning this award is very important to our firm.

It substantiates our decision to have an industry focus, which is our secret ingredient, and indicates that our value has been recognized. This singular focus has allowed us to acquire deeper knowledge and insights that bring premier value to every transaction.”

Describing the feeling of being selected for this award leads Thomas to discuss his overall mission for the firm and what steps they plan to take to achieve this. Moreover, Thomas explains how Blaige & Company integrate innovation into every aspect of their work, as being creative enables them to complete their mission.

“More than just a transaction advisor, Blaige & Company is an experienced partner for our clients, bringing a strategic and operational approach that assists them in formulating and achieving goals. What distinguishes Blaige & Company’s bankers is not only their experience as investment banking intermediaries, but also direct experience as company owners and CEOs, operating management with direct experience in the markets, and private equity investors.”

“Additionally, we are a foot wide but a mile deep into international investment banking for plastics, packaging, and chemicals industry transactions.

Our rapid growth since inception in 2003, has led

Pure Focus. Premier Value.

us to become the leading brand with a reputation for international scope and extraordinary results for clients.”

Regarding the internal culture within Blaige & Company, Thomas explains how he ensures that all of his staff are in the best possible position to deal with any issues which may potentially arise, and answer queries from clients and customers.

“Blaige & Company’s internal culture stresses the highest quality work. We are top heavy with a disproportionate number of senior staff and advisors, including entrepreneurs and managers.

Our operational knowledge helps us unlock hidden strategic values, understand and position highlights, and mitigate risks. This focus on quality has resulted in a 10 to 20 percent premium for our clients.”

Within the wide variety of industries that the firm operates, Blaige & Company has successfully completed dozens of assignments on behalf of a high profile global client base over the past 15 years. Blaige & Company’s clientele includes large international corporations, private equity investors, privately held, and family owned companies.

Approximately 40% of transactions have involved an international buyer or seller. Interstingly, because the company works worldwide, North American specifics are less important than international trends: the growing importance of packaging, ecological concerns, and the globalisation of business.

Operating within the plastics, packaging and chemical industries, means that work comes thick and fast for Blaige & Company, and Thomas is keen to highlight what techniques the firm employs in order to stay ahead of emerging developments.

“The important ways that we stay ahead of emerging developments are by publishing industrial analysis reports and attending global industry shows. These allow us to keep updating industry dynamics and stay in touch with prospective clients worldwide which keep us from becoming U.S.-centric.”

Ensuring all areas are covered and that staff are up to date with all the modern trends, the team at Blaige & Company has contributed more than 50 articles published by Plastics News, Plastics Today, Thermoforming Quarterly, Flexible Packaging Magazine, Modern Plastics, and other leading industry publications. Additionally, Thomas has presented at more than 100 industry events over the past fifteen years. Blaige & Company senior executives have also attended trade shows worldwide including Chinaplas, Korea Pack, Interpack, K Show, and Label Expo Europe. These international events are not regularly attended by most investment banking firms.

Nearing towards the end of the interview, Thomas comments on what aspects of Blaige & Company help it to stand out from its competitors, enabling it to attract the best clients and business. Thomas notes that strict privacy and confidentiality procedures mean that banking clients are more attracted to the firm, as well as the company’s impressive track record.

“Throughout the company, our ethics, boutique structure and involvement of the most senior bankers throughout the process ensure that confidential matters are treated as such.

“Furthermore, clients are impressed by our flawless execution. We execute a carefully orchestrated process involving strategically positioning the opportunity to each prospect; successfully negotiating financial and non-financial aspects of proposals, and finally; proactively managing the process, particularly post-LOI, to ensure a successful closing and the maintenance of confidentiality.”

“Finally, we are committed to the middle market.

The team understands that many transactions in its target industries are middle market transactions and we find these transactions among the most interesting and rewarding opportunities in our field.”

Boasting a wealth of experience, the team is confident that Blaige & Company possesses more experience in the selected markets than any other investment banking firm; therefore, its clients are ensured of receiving the highest caliber of investment banking services and senior level

attention that other firms reserve only for their largest clients and transactions.

With the combination of mostly experience and leading industry knowledge, Blaige & Company completed over 200 transactions with premium results in plastics, packaging, and chemicals.

Furthermore, the company keeps efficient by preparing well ahead of the competition, and has instant market access due to proprietary systems and contacts, and maximum competition translates into maximum price and best terms.

Ultimately, there looks to be exciting times ahead for Blaige & Company. Thomas concludes by outlining what the future holds for the firm, predicting more of the same, with the company maximize its potential and keeping client satisfaction levels at an extraordinary high level.

“Moving forward, we believe that the future for our company is more of the same; utilizing our secret ingredient to maximize our results in a focused space. We know that many firms have an in-house investment bank that they use, but we believe that for any transaction in our space, we should be the go-to bank.”

Acquisition International - January 2018 43

1712AI48

Contact: Paul Lanois Company: Paul Lanois, 116 Newbury Street, Milpitas, California, 95035, USA Tel: 0041 44 333 06 10

Data Protection and Information Security Expertise Paul Lanois is a seasoned global privacy, data protection and information security expert. Recently, Paul won our Acquisition Intl. 2017 Global Excellence Awards as the In-House Legal Counsel of the Year accolade.

To celebrate his success, we took the opportunity to profile his marvellous work on technology law.

aul Lanois is a global privacy, data protection and information security expert and is an attorney admitted to the Bars of the District of Columbia (DC-USA), New York (NY-USA) and the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). On a regular basis, Paul publishes articles on technology law and is frequently invited to speak on such topics. He has spoken at numerous conferences across Europe, the United States and Asia. His views have been noted in diverse publications and media outlets in relation to privacy, data protection and technology-related matters.

P

In 2016, he was named a ‘Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Trailblazer’ by the National Law Journal and an ‘Innovative Corporate Counsel’ by Law 360. He was recognised as a leading lawyer in The Legal 500’s GC Powerlist and was awarded the 2017 Advocacy Award from the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC).

Over the years, he has been recognised as a Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and

44 Acquisition International - January 2018

is a certified information privacy professional, with concentrations in Asian law (CIPP/A), US law (CIPP/ US), European law (CIPP/E) and Canadian law (CIPP/C).

Also, Paul is a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) and a Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT). He also holds the following information security certifications: CCSK, PCIP, SSCP, CISMP. He is currently senior legal counsel at Credit Suisse.

Alongside this, he was an Associate Professor at the University of Cergy-Pontoise in France and an associate at major international law firms (Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Allen & Overy and Linklaters).

He graduated from the University of Paris-Sorbonne (France), with a Master’s degree in Business Law and a postgraduate degree in Private and Public Economic Law. Lastly, Paul holds an LL.M. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (USA) and a Certificate in Business and Public Policy from the Wharton School, at the University of Pennsylvania.

1712AI78

Company: Helge Nyberg AB Contact: Peter Sprigg Contact Email: peter.sprigg@ helge-nyberg.com Address: Helge Nyberg AB, Industrivägen 2, Ulricehamn, SE-523 90, Sweden Phone: 0046 321 263 00 Website: www.helge-nyberg.com

Helge Nyberg AB: Manufacturing Success Helge Nyberg AB is an innovative developer based in Sweden that specialises in in-house material handling that enhance ergonomics and efficiency in manufacturing businesses, e-commerce and order picking.

CEO, Peter Sprigg, winner of CEO of the Year 2017 – Sweden in our 2017 Global Excellence Awards, discusses the firm’s focus on gaining international acclaim for its creative solutions. stablished in 1958, since inception Helge Nyberg has blossomed into a global company with customers in more than 60 countries. Helge Nyberg develops and manufactures trolleys and picking trucks for a worldwide market and is the only specialist company that combines trolley and truck.

E

Through this dual approach, Hedge Nyberg is able to offer a full-service solution, supporting people, trolleys and trucks. This is something that distinguishes Helge Nyberg as a company compared to others. It is more common that a company either produce trucks or trolleys, not both. Peter discusses the firm’s mission and how this innovative service offering helps to support its achievement.

“Here at Hedge Nyberg, our overall mission is to make our customers everyday work easier and effective.

This is achieved thank to our vast knowledge and expertise in material handling, and our long experience of developing trucks and trolleys, as well as the really close relationship we have with our customers. We learn about their goals, their needs and challenges. Using this knowledge, our team then focus on developing unique solutions to meet their needs. The flexible basic design of our products enables us to focus on innovation.”

“...our overall mission is to make our customers everyday work easier and effective. This is achieved thank to our vast knowledge and expertise in material handling...”

strong knowledge about our customers’ demands in the different segments in which we act – industry and manufacturing, e-commerce and order picking, healthcare and hospital, automotive and vehicle and service and support. Fundamentally, we have built up an organization that is able to provide standard products, as well as tailor-made solutions.”

With regards to the future, Peter believes that Helge Nyberg will continue to adapt and prosper as it seeks to develop its international presence even further, as he explains in his concluding comments.

It is the firm’s quality solutions and dedication to providing a truly bespoke service that ensures its ongoing success, as Peter is eager to highlight.

“Currently, at Helge Nyberg we are doing business in more than 60 countries, and during the year of 2017 we started a subsidiary in Germany to make it even easier for us to be close to our customers and to increase our market and create more growth in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

“To provide our clients with solutions that meet their needs, we develop unique solutions for order picking and e-commerce business. We also have a

“Looking ahead, we intend to continue to grow and flourish. As a company, we adapt to continuing improvement and new technology.”

Acquisition International - January 2018 45

1801AI67

The Key to Success Company: K Professional Accountants Contact: Darith Khun, CPA/FCCA Address: 5th floors CPL Building, #25 & 63, St. 348/205, Sangkat Toul Svay Prey II, Khan Chamkarmorn, Phnom Penh Website: www.kpaglobal.com Email: darith2003@hotmail.com Tel: (855) 23 218 627

K Professional Accountants (KPA) is a well-established accountancy firm led by Certified Public Accountants (CPA) and ACCA, providing excellent and distinctive professional services such as, Audit and Assurance, Business Advisory, Taxation & Corporate registration, and Financial Management Training & Coaching. We asked Darith Khun to give us an insight into the company’s impressive success.

PA is a member firm of integrita, an international network of independent member firms of accounting, audit and business advisory. The firm is also an active member of Kampuchea Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Auditors (KICPAA).

technical needs. We are client-focused and we customise our approach based on the client’s individual requirements. This is developed thanks to our wide industry experience, as our specialists are experienced professionals with exposure to a wide range of industries.

Offering a variety of solutions, the company holds a wide range of experience in providing professional services to various industries, including the Telecom Industry, State-owned enterprises, Garment factories, Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (CSX), Tour and travel Agents member of IATA, Airlines, large corporates and SMEs as well as not-forprofit organisations in Cambodia.

“Ensuring that we reach the best outcome for the client, the team tailor our solutions in order to satisfy their needs. Staff spend time understanding customer requirements and adapt the solutions to provide them with the required benefits. Looking to make a return on investment, staff take a long term, cost savings approach for clients, focusing on areas that matter the most and provide the greatest benefits. Lastly, but importantly, our team are always actively keeping abreast of current trends and issues, monitoring them constantly to make sure that we stay ahead of developments.”

K

Darith outlines KPA’s overall mission for us, alluding to what ideas the firm promotes from within and how the company’s highly skilled employees complement the concepts that KPA work towards. These qualities and values all contribute to the company achieving this mission.

“Embedded within our staff, our mission is to strengthen the capacity of financial management for SMEs and professional accountants in Cambodia. We promote good governance, integrity and transparency in the Cambodia.

“KPA employs highly qualified and professional staff, managers and partners with industry specific experiences, as well as insight of the audit and assurance engagements. All of our partners are ACCAs, FCCAs and CPAs. The clients are impressed with our high quality, professionalism, professional vision and commitments to providing high-quality services.

“Furthermore, we always bring about new and innovative ideas and improvements to continually meet the changing needs of our clients, and a fast-growing accounting profession in Cambodia.”

Differentiating itself from its competitors, Darith is keen to point out that the team’s expertise and knowledge helps it to stand out within the industry. He then details a number of important factors which the company believe separate them out from others in the industry.

“Essentially, our aim is to turn our practical knowledge and experience in the industries into values which benefit our clients and our stakeholders. We help both organisations and professionals to grow with confidence.

“Regarding our business oriented approach, KPA focuses on addressing both the business and

46 Acquisition International - January 2018

Looking to uphold certain values, KPA ensure that staff all work towards the same mission, which creates a thriving working environment and leads to the best results being secured. Staff are given the freedom to be independent and work hard to find the best solution, and also act with integrity and be open with the client.

Achieving excellence is something that KPA holds in high regard, along with allowing team members and employees to be practical in their work, producing the best results. These values are achieved and promoted thanks to the internal culture within the firm, realising excellence and being competent, having professional ethics and adding value to clients, the firm and the country.

Regarding what the future holds for the firm, Darith predicts a positive outlook for KPA, with the team looking to be the company of choice for many clients. He concludes that the company will achieve its mission thanks to its ability to keep an eye on any developments, something it will have to do in the ever evolving financial industry.

“Ultimately, our goal is to be a firm of choice for specific industries that are looking for professional services with high standards of quality and professionalism.

“Technology development and changes in regulations will affect all industries including accounting profession, we are keeping our eye on such developments and changes and we are preparing ourselves to be a leader.”

1712AI78

Company: N. Dowuona & Company Contact: NanaAma Botchway Contact Email: nanaama@dowuonalaw.com Address: Suites 305 & 306, 3rd Floor, Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, Commercial Centre, Independence Avenue, Ridge, Accra, Ghana Phone: 00233 302 632 043

One of the Leading Names in Corporate and Commercial Legal Practice N. Dowuona & Company is a dynamic legal advisory firm that advises clients on a wide array of legal matters, including corporate and commercial law, property and construction law, energy and infrastructure law and banking and finance. We profile the firm, which has been awarded Best in Corporate & Commercial Law 2017 – Ghana in our 2017 Global Excellence Awards.

Dowuona offers big law firm quality and small law firm attention. Established in 2011, the has firm quickly gained a reputation as one of the leading Corporate and Commercial law firms in Ghana and is regularly instructed by top local and international companies and law firms to act in major domestic and crossborder transactions. The firm’s success is a testament to its dedication to finding pragmatic solutions and providing value for money for its clients. The firm makes it a priority to understand and anticipate it’s clients’ needs and to structure their services in the best way to efficiently meet those needs.

N.

In addition to its work on high value cross-border and domestic mergers and acquisitions, the firm is also regularly involved in large scale development projects, financings, large and complex in-bound investment and divestment transactions, debt and equity investment, venture capital and capital market transactions. Its clients range from established multinational corporations to start-up companies operating in a variety of industries from financial service companies, private equity funds, mid and

downstream petroleum companies, hospitality companies, insurance companies, to construction firms.

What distinguishes N. Dowuona is its culture of excellence, the willingness to go the extra mile and its collaborative approach towards client service. The firm strives to stay abreast of innovations in business as well as local, global political and economic developments. Creativity and innovation are at the core of the practice and they permeates the firm culture and the solutions offered to its clients. The firm has a sophisticated understanding of the legal, social and political dynamics and risks in Ghana and is recognized for its ability to offer nuanced, cogent and comprehensive advice.

In the coming year, the firm seeks to extend and reinforce its influence in the domestic legal market in Ghana and to make a meaningful impact in the wider community through its corporate social responsibility initiatives focused on women’s and children’s rights and the empowerment of micro-businesses.

Acquisition International - January 2018 47

1801AI68

Tradition in Innovation Company: Lugna Contact: João Gil Figueira Contact Email: lisbon@lugna.pt Address: Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca 9 - 3ºB, 1250-189 Lisboa, Portugal Phone: +351 21 131 04 08 Website: www.lugna.pt

Lugna is a transaction-focused boutique firm that advises companies operating in traditional and non-traditional financial sectors. We spoke to João Gil Figueira as we look to find out more about the company and its success. ugna provides international business leverage to national corporations and entrepreneurs. The FinTech department at the company now advises corporations which are expanding worldwide. In 2017, Lugna advised on several Cryptocurrency based projects, such as leading Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) worldwide, with a particular focus on regulatory and corporate structuring matters.

L

Offering a variety of services, Lugna provides practical and strategic advice to investors of all sizes in a new type of asset class. For private clients, Lugna provides structuring, due diligence and contract/document review services to avoid red-flags and pitfalls in cryptocurrency related investments or joint ventures. In addition to working for clients in the Cryptocurrency and Fintech sectors, Lugna’s practice also encompasses other investment related matters, tax, corporate restructuring, business model optimisation, private client advisory and business immigration.

João tells us about the typical clients that the company works with, including individuals and other such companies, before going on to explain the firm’s overall aims and describing what techniques the company will employ in order to reach its targets.

“...we continuously monitor the legal and business arenas to identify opportunities or challenges and provide prudent and tactical advice to clients.”

48 Acquisition International - January 2018

monitor certain trends helps the company stay ahead of any developments within the industry, helping them to establish themselves as one of the leading advisory firms in the financial market.

“Regarding our achievements, our team is central to the firm’s success. Moving forward, the firm will be looking to build upon this by maintaining a great team, and work to ensure that it remains at the forefront of the latest industry developments.

Preventing problems through regular interaction and open communication positions our clients for growth.

“Furthermore, we continuously monitor the legal and business arenas to identify opportunities or challenges and provide prudent and tactical advice to clients.”

Having touched on the thriving work environment, João goes into more detail about the internal culture within Lugna, highlighting every member of staff’s diverse skillset and innovative mindsets as major influences in the firm’s success.

“Lugna is composed of highly skilled advisors and lawyers, most of whom have previously worked in Big Four firms or in international law firms and are members of the Academia.

“Diversity is part of the firm’s culture in selecting staff and designing workflow processes. Expertise and backgrounds are diverse and staff members from one team are expected to develop new skills by working together with members from other teams. We rely on multidisciplinary and a bespoke approach to each project.”

“Lugna’s clients include individuals, private and public enterprises, governmental agencies and non-profit organisations at all stages of the business life cycle.

Alongside a thriving working environment, there are many other factors which contribute to the success of Lugna. João comments on what differentiates the firm from its competitors, citing its niche practice areas in which employees gain experience that many other firms would not necessarily focus on.

“Embedded in the company culture is the company’s vision. Our overall mission is to provide relevant advice for our clients by staying attentive to new developments in high value-added industries.”

“When separating ourselves from our competitors, we differentiate by looking into niche practice areas and gaining expertise where most practitioners are not comfortable in.

Integral to the success of Lugna are the staff who work within the company, and João emphasises the importance of his staff to the future of the firm.

A great team ethic and an ability to predict and

“During the last two years, we have invested into the FinTech sector to complement other practises, such as Tax and Corporate. Other niche practises include cross border M&A issues, or comprehensive

Tradition in Innovation

tax advisory for internationally mobile families with complex affairs and investment structures in both common and civil law jurisdictions.”

However, it is not just the variety and adaptability of the company’s services which help Lugna to stand out, something João is keen to point out. The firm is always looking at ways it can improve, whether it be through its practice areas or customer services, and there is a freedom within the company which allows discussions to take place.

“In terms of workflow process, we stand apart by distancing ourselves from a traditional insular approach to projects where information is partitioned. Any topic is up for internal discussion, allowing us to utilise our multidisciplinary and diverse team.

“Moreover, Lugna has an ongoing commitment to enhancing the quality of its advisory and professional reputation. We have a strict confidentiality policy in

which discretion and good judgment have earned us the trust of our clients.”

framework, so most of our blockchain related work involves multiple jurisdictions.

Being selected in the 2017 Global Excellence Awards is something which excites João and the rest of his team, and he is keen to acknowledge the clients which the firm work with as a major aspect of the company being name the Best Legal Practice 2017: FinTech & Cryptocurrency.

“In 2017, we have also allocated more resources to compliance related matters. For instance, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is now a concern for all companies with E.U. clients, due to a direct impact on their organisational framework.

Our team now provides a global analysis of the impact of GDPR by identifying and minimising the privacy risks of new projects or policies.”

“Concerning all the work we do and services which we provide, we have the privilege of working with great clients spanning a wide geographic range and it is great to have our team’s work recognised.”

As a result of winning this award, Lugna is able to further cement itself within the financial sector.

João provides us with a brief overview of the industry within Portugal, giving us an insight into the company’s standing within this ever growing sector.

“Portugal, as well as most countries, is yet to develop a strong Cryptocurrency friendly legal

Moving forward, there looks to be exciting times ahead for the firm, with João hinting at possible expansion in a variety of areas, as Lugna looks to maintain its niche of practicing and excelling in nontraditional areas.

“Since 2016, the number of Lugna’s clients that are start-ups or in Fintech increased, and we will continue to grow our presence and expertise in other non-traditional sectors of business.”

Acquisition International - January 2018 49

1801AI68

Company: MORGENSTERN Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH Contact: Jan Morgenstern Address: Maximilianstraße 49, Speyer, D-67346, Germany Phone: 0049 6232 1001 19-0 Website: www.m-kanzlei.de

Driving Excellence in IT Law MORGENSTERN is a German law firm which is specialising in information technology law and data protection. Founder and Managing Partner Jan Morgenstern provides us with a fascinating overview of the firm, which recently won Most Outstanding IT & Media Lawyers 2017 – Germany in our 2017 Global Excellence Awards. rawing on the vast industry expertise of its staff, MORGENSTERN supports a wide range of clients, including discerning private individuals, investors, artists, authors and web designers as well as local authorities, public corporations and companies of all sizes.

D

Attorney at Law and Specialist Lawyer in IT Law Jan advises nationally and internationally active companies and corporations as a nationally soughtafter expert in the development and implementation of data protection organizations and IT compliance management systems. He proudly discusses the firm’s mission and the challenges it has to overcome to achieve this.

“Here at MORGENSTERN, our overall mission is to face the new and upcoming legal questions and to support our clients by managing the period of digitization. The greatest challenge we face is to integrate innovation into our and our clients’ work by realising and valuating the risks – especially with regard to Data Protection and IT-Security.

“Specifically, for EU companies in general the major challenge will be to be compliant with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. The penalties that could be imposed are really threatening: We are talking about up to 20 Million EUR. For companies out of the EU, it will be more or less the same challenge; because an EU based company that is transferring personal data out of the EU is risking high penalties without checking and contractually specify an adequate level of data protection.

Concerning worldwide networked IT, there are mutual efforts needed – within and outside the EU, in contractual and technical respects.

“...the importance data protection and ITSecurity will increase and increase.”

“To support our clients and ensure that they are always at the forefront of these developments, we are constantly learning from our clients and our clients are learning from us. This is a very important

50 Acquisition International - January 2018

aspect of our work, especially as we are working in a high technology environment.”

It is the firm’s collaborative approach and supportive internal culture that has helped drive it to the success it enjoys today and is central to setting the firm apart from its competitors, as Jan is keen to highlight.

“What sets us apart in this competitive market is the fact that MORGENSTERN is not an impersonal acting global law firm. Our clients appreciate our personal and businessman approach. We are talking face to face to our clients on the same level. We are highly specialized in Information Technology, which means we are understanding what our clients are talking about and are able to communicate efficiently and effectively. Our internal culture is based on mutual respect and the understanding that we have a privilege to live in a peaceful and democratic environment, which we should never forget.”

As he looks to the future Jan foresees an increased need for firms such as his, and as such is eager to grow MORGENSTERN even further and capitalise on its current success, as he concludes.

“With regards to the future, the importance data protection and IT-Security will increase and increase. At MORGENSTERN, we have realised this point of view very early, which means we are already in the position to support and create solutions. Being compliant with legal provisions with regard to data protection and IT-security is no longer only a formal aspect. From the company`s point of view, it is simply necessary and a mandatory act of self-defence. Hacker attacks are constantly in the news, and the ‘Snowden- effect’, as well as the EU General Data Protection Regulation are forcing companies and managers to build up a data protection management system which includes effective measures in IT-security.

“Overall, MORGENSTERN is planning to step up and operate on a more international level, as IT is a global phenomenon and we are keen to share our expertise with the wider industry and work with more clients around the world.”

Driving Excellence in IT Law

Acquisition International - January 2018 51

Deal of the Year FN170002

Enviro-Master International Franchise LLC acquisition of Restroom Company: Enviro-Master International Franchise LLC Contact: Tod Bierling, COO Contact Email: tbierling@enviro-master.com Address: 417 Minuet Ln. Suite G, Charlotte, NC 28217, USA Phone: 001 704 302 1016 Website: www.enviro-master.com

Hygiene Business of Ecolab Inc Enviro-Master purchased the restroom hygiene business from Ecolab, a $14 billion company. We invited Tod Bierling, COO, and Pat Swisher, CEO, to give us a breakdown of the acquisition and what it means for each company.

Enviro-Master was founded in 2009 by Pat Swisher, based on his twenty-five plus years of experience in the hygiene business with Swisher International.

Ecolab is the global leader in water, chemical and energy technologies. The transaction closed on October 24, 2016 and nearly doubled the system wide customer count of Enviro-Master.

Essentially, the transaction was a reverse roll-up, as Enviro-Master had to break down the sales revenue by counties and zip codes across 65 separate franchise territories across the country. Part of the transaction included acquiring employment of 250 hygiene related employees and approximately a fleet of 225 vans. Tod explains what some of the biggest challenges were that the acquisition provided.

“One of the biggest challenges was analysing all of the data that came over with the transaction, and there was a tight timeline between acquisition and actual take over date. Enviro-Master had to load all customer service, products and routing data from one system to another. The customers and vendors worked around the clock to import and verify that the data was accurate.”

“The transaction allowed us to greatly increase our customer footprint and gave our existing franchisees the opportunity to become even more successful.”

52 Acquisition International - January 2018

“On the whole, this acquisition was a win-win for both parties, customers and employees. In the long-term, franchisees need to continue servicing all customers with timely, high quality service and products.”

Lastly, Tod signs off by explaining what the transaction means for the future Enviro-Master, and how it will not only benefit the company, but will also benefit the franchisees.

“The transaction allowed us to greatly increase our customer footprint and gave our existing franchisees the opportunity to become even more successful.”

CEO Pat Swisher concludes that the combined strengths of the business were a driving force behind this successful deal.

“Significantly, we supplied a specific project and rollout plan to all franchisees to insure the acquired customers were visited by the new owners as quickly as possible to insure the newly acquired customers understood the transaction had taken place. As a result of the transaction, in many cases, customers began receiving higher quality and more consistent service and product deliveries.”

“Buying back the Swisher restroom hygiene customers from Ecolab was very satisfying. The majority of the customer base originated from my old company, Swisher Hygiene. We were very excited about the opportunities the acquisition created for our franchisees, in many cases, doubling their existing sales. The combined strengths of our businesses helped accelerate our growth and profitability.”

Obviously pleased with the completion of the deal, Tod explains what factors he believes are conducive to a successful deal, and what elements need to be in place for the transaction to be successful in the long-term.

Overall, this deal showed the sharp business minds behind Enviro-Master have completed an exceptional deal which will drive the company forward and reinforce Enviro-Master as the leader within the industry.

Deal of the Year FN170011

Deal of the Year: WeShareBonds Minority Stake Acquisition Company: La Banque Postale Contact Email: communicationfinanciere@labanquepostale.fr Address: 115 rue de Sèvres, 75275 Paris cedex06 Website: www.labanquepostale.com

La Banque Postale La Banque Postale Group is a wholly- owned subsidiary of La Poste, itself owned by the Republic of France (74%) and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (26%). We profile the Group as we look to find out about the success of the company.

La Banque Postale (LBP) is one of the leading retail banking players in France thanks to a combination of organic growth, successful longterm partnerships and external developments and benefits from a sound capital position (CET1 ratio of 13.6% as of June 30th, 2017) enabling it to pursue its ambitious development strategy. In 2016, the Group net banking income and net income (group share) amounted to €5.6bn and €694m respectively.

With c.11 million active customers, La Banque Postale’s business is focused on the retail banking business in France, and specifically on retail customers. It is organized around three business segments, with Retail banking being its core business, which is mainly focused on individual customers, and has progressively extended to corporate customers since 2011 and to local authorities (“collectivités locales”) since 2012; corporate customers represent c.

10% of the activity. Additionally, the company’s other segments include insurance, dealing in life, contingency, property, general and health sectors, as well as asset management, working in portfolio management and discretionary management.

With reference to the acquisition which features as Deal of the Year, La Banque Postale purchased a minority stake in WeShareBonds. The parties involved included the buying side La Banque Postale and its advisors, UGGC Partners Law firm and Bryan Garnier, financial advisor. On the selling side were founders of WeShareBonds; (Guillaume Hannezo, Chairman of the board and Cyril Tramon, CEO) and its advisor (François Bourrier Soifer, lawyer).

LBP has taken a stake of 10% in the capital of WeShareBonds, a French Digital P2P lending platform, which offers opportunities to lend to French profitable SMEs, through the issue of bonds. WeShareBonds has also set up two credit funds, which invests alongside platform investors.

Since its creation in 2016, WeShareBonds has raised circa €20m (25% in equity and 75% to seed the credit funds).

Interestingly, there were many aspects which were key to the successful conclusion of the transaction, including the quick nature of the deal, negotiation techniques and a strong project which outlined the clear nature of the deal.

Regarding the rapid conclusion of the deal, there was a deadline to close the credit fund, and the willingness of the team to strongly develop WeShareBonds, as it had less than four months to study, set up, negotiate, sign and close the

operation. This was an impressive factor in the success of the deal.

Both sides also had to oversee a negotiation of the governance without breaking the balance of the General Assembly composed of 50 individuals who personally invested in the project at the beginning.

Furthermore, another key aspect included the elaboration of a relevant and convincing strategic project to create synergies and support the development of WeShareBonds. Lastly, there was also lobbying within La Banque Postale to promote the first equity investment into a Fintech, which is specialized in an innovative product, converting bonds to finance SMEs. Analysing the success of the deal, there were three techniques employed in the success of the deal but the most important of the play was been to create enough confidence between the two teams, in order to demonstrate that La Banque Postale would not “crush” WeShareBonds, which is a small and agile structure. Common works on the development plan and on the fundraising of the credit fund also enabled La Banque Postale to create trust and to show that the combination of two entities would be very fruitful.

Currently, the French retail banking industry is currently very mature and is facing an assortment of challenges which companies will have to adapt to in order to get the best out of their businesses.

Throughout France, there are historically low interest rates and a glut of liquidity, which harms the margins for companies. Technology is also becoming a bigger part of the industry, with digital technologies raising the issues of new banking patterns, with potential dramatic effects on the costs, and a necessity to adapt quickly. There are also increasing regulatory constraints, which increase the need of capital, and competition with burgeoning Fintechs, which are less regulated and are increasing part of the industry.

Leading on the wider M&A market, there are many trends which are also developing, with this market also seeing a rising increase in Fintechs and new technology, combined with the abundance of liquidity pushing prices upwards and yields downwards. To adapt to these trends, La Banque Postale sticks to its selective criteria of targets, placing a strong emphasis on the industrial aspects such as synergies, development potential, with a long-term view.

Lastly, a recent acquisition of 100% of KissKissBankBank, one of the pioneer crowdfunding platforms in France, looks to have set the platform for a promising future for La Banque Postale.

Acquisition International - January 2018 53

Round-up of 2017 Company: Bureau van Dijk E-Mail: bvd@bvdinfo.com Web: www.bvdinfo.com

2017 has been a fairly disappointing year in terms of the volume and value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals announced over the course of the last 12 months. In all there were 89,414 deals worth a combined USD 4,261,886 million announced during the year. This is particularly disappointing as it represents the second consecutive yearly decline in value, following the impressive USD 4,818,076 million-worth of dealmaking recorded in 2015. he discouraging result comes despite a pleasing start to the year in terms of value. Both Q1 and Q2 surpassed the corresponding periods of last year, with dealmaking of USD 1,049,824 million and USD 1,060,141 million, respectively. However, both Q3 and Q4 failed to keep up this pace; Q3 dropped from USD 1,174,239 million in Q3 2016 to USD 982,304 million, while Q4’s value slipped from USD 1,338,225 million to USD 1,169,617 million over the same timeframe. By contrast, value was down in every quarter when compared with the corresponding timeframe of 2016.

T

Despite the overall decline in volume and value in 2017, there were still a number of sizeable transactions signed off over the 12 months. The largest of these was worth USD 77,000 million and featured a US target as CVS Health agreed to pick up insurance player Aetna for USD 207.94 per share. The deal was announced in early December and accounts for almost 7 per cent of all value recorded in Q4 2017. It was followed by another US purchase as the Walt Disney Company announced

plans to acquire Twenty-First Century Fox for USD 66,100 million in mid-December. Third place was taken by British American Tobacco’s USD 49,400 million takeover of cigarettes and tobacco products maker Reynolds American, which was signed off in January and subsequently closed in July.

Of the year’s top ten deals by value, five featured US targets. As such, it is not surprising to see North America top the world region rankings by value. In all, companies based in the region were targeted in deals worth a combined USD 1,393,704 million in 2017. In keeping with the overall global trend for the year, this represented a decline on 2016’s USD 1,665,860 million-worth of dealmaking in the region.

Nevertheless, it still placed it ahead of secondplaced Western Europe, which featured in deals worth USD 1,177,527 million, while the Far East and Central Asia came third with USD 1,162,317 million.

It was a different story by volume as the Far East and Central Asia topped the rankings with 25,126 deals, followed by Western Europe and North America with 24,612 and 23,383, respectively.

In terms of sectors, the machinery, equipment, furniture and recycling industry attracted the most value in the year under review, having featured in deals worth a combined USD 522,196 million.

This was boosted by a number of high profile transactions, including United Technologies’ USD 30,000 million acquisition of Rockwell Collins.

This transaction was the fifth-largest of the year and accounted for 6 per cent of the USD 522,196 million injected into machinery, equipment, furniture and recycling companies in 2017. Other large deals in the industry include Becton Dickinson and Company’s USD 24,000 million takeover of CR Bard and Pangea’s USD 17,714 million purchase of Toshiba Memory. The chemicals, rubber and plastics field also attracted significant value in 2017, having been targeted in deals worth USD 353,597 million, while banks and the primary sector also placed highly, with USD 298,860 million and USD 253,886 million, respectively.

In short, while 2017 was unable to keep up the impressive pace recorded over the previous two years, activity levels were still encouraging and plenty of high value dealmaking took place. 2017’s value surpassed any other year since 2007 and leaves plenty to be positive about as we move into 2018.

54 Acquisition International - January 2018

Round-up of 2017

Number and Aggregate Value (mil USD) of Deals Globally (as at 31 December 2017)

Number of Deals Globally by Target Sector: 2016 - 2017 (as at 31 December 2017)

Deal Number half yearly value of deals (Announced date)

Aggregate deal value (mil $)

Major sector (target)

2016

2017

H2 2017

41,998

2,151,921

Other services

35,288

33,019

H1 2017

47,416

2,109,965

10,914

9,167

H2 2016

47,732

2,512,464

Machinery, equipment, furniture, recycling

H1 2016

50,026

1,939,347

Wholesale & retail trade

5,812

5,464

H2 2015

44,319

2,468,495

Publishing, printing

5,450

4,765

Chemicals, rubber, plastics, non-metallic products

5,411

4,636

Metals & metal products

5,275

4,440

Construction

3,433

3,210

Primary Sector (agriculture, mining, etc.)

2,967

2,405

Food, beverages, tobacco

2,148

1,960

Banks

2,130

1,890

Transport

2,014

1,691

H1 2015

44,566

2,349,581

H2 2014

43,698

2,027,236

H1 2014

41,564

1,908,377

H2 2013

41,019

1,627,953

H1 2013

36,206

1,365,379

H2 2012

35,716

1,472,791

H1 2012

34,188

1,182,219

H2 2011

33,642

1,253,968

H1 2011

32,851

1,479,899

H2 2010

33,749

1,413,275

Education, Health

1,589

1,661

H1 2010

33,303

1,195,174

1,741

1,635

H2 2009

31,064

1,332,884

Gas, Water, Electricity

1,165

28,888

1,536,765

Insurance companies

1,293

H1 2009 H2 2008

27,844

1,874,903

Post and telecommunications

1,149

1,083

H1 2008

29,197

1,722,105

Hotels & restaurants

1,299

1,071

H2 2007

30,742

2,049,961

Textiles, wearing apparel, leather

905

816

Number and Aggregate Value (Mil USD) Deals Globally: 2012-2017 (as at 31 December 2017) Deal yearly value (Announced date)

Number of deals

Aggregate deal value (mil $)

2017

89,414

4,261,886

2016 2015 2014 2013

97,758 88,885 85,262 77,225

4,451,812 4,818,076 3,935,613 2,993,332

2012

69,904

2,655,010

Number of Deals by Region: 2013 - 2017 (as at 31 December 2017) World region (target) Far East and Central Asia

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

14,839

19,111

24,302

26,774

25,126

Western Europe North America Eastern Europe Oceania

20,653 22,772 10,061 4,812

20,276 26,400 11,227 4,180

23,958 24,550 8,145 3,959

27,030 26,558 9,255 3,987

24,612 23,383 8,328 3,672

South and Central America Africa Middle East

2,077 977 920

1,991 1,331 713

1,899 1,300 734

2,043 1,245 904

2,104 1,270 772

Energy and Resources In keeping with the overall global pattern, dealmaking in the energy and resources sector declined in 2017, as both volume and value dropped in comparison with last year, according to Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk. In all, there were 6,568 deals worth an aggregate USD 545,409 million announced during 2017.

The year’s results are particularly disappointing in terms of value, which has reached its lowest level since 2013, when deals worth USD 434,974 million were announced. The figure also represented a 23 per cent decline on 2016’s USD 563,660 million.

Value was also down year-on-year, declining from 7,564 deals in 2016 to 6,568 in 2017. However, this is still higher than the 5,924 transactions signed off in 2015. Of 2017’s four quarters, only one managed to surpass the corresponding timeframe of last year; in Q1, dealmaking totalled USD 209,584 million, compared to USD 110,032 million in Q1 2016.

Nevertheless, there were still a few sizeable transactions announced during 2017. The largest of all was worth USD 23,143 million and involved Devarshi Commercials, among other investors, taking a 36 per cent stake in Reliance Industries.

This was followed by a USD 20,474 million acquisition of US electricity distributor Calpine by a consortium led by Energy Capital Partners, via an acquisition vehicle known as Volt Parent.

North America attracted the most investment of all world regions in 2017, having been targeted in 2,089 deals worth a combined USD 243,593 million. This placed it ahead of Western Europe, which placed second by volume and value with 1,312 deals worth USD 117,226 million. The Far East and Central Asia came third by value, with dealmaking of USD 92,278 million, while Oceania placed third by volume, with 1,151 deals. North America’s position at the head of both rankings is unsurprising given that, of the year’s top 20 deals by value, 12 featured targets based in the region.

In conclusion, 2017 was a fairly disappointing year in terms of the volume and value of deals featuring targets operating in the energy and resources sector. However, it is worth noting that the declines recorded during the year under review were reflected on a global scale over the 12 months.

Nevertheless, many will be hoping to see an upturn in activity as we move into 2018.

Acquisition International - January 2018 55

Winners’ Directory

Most Innovative App Development Company 2017 - UK Company: Glance Creative LTD Email: hello@thisisglance.com Telephone: +44 203 811 0484 Web Address: www.thisisglance.com Title: Most Trusted Online Data Protection Lawyer 2017 - Austria Company: SCWP Schindhelm Email: m.pachinger@scwp.com Telephone: 0043 7242 65290 318 Web Address: www.at.schindhelm.com Most Outstanding IT Support Services Provider 2017 – North East England Company: Smart IT Support Ltd Email: tonywilson@smartitgroup.co.uk Telephone: 0330 223 3525 Web Address: www.smartitgroup.co.uk Most Outstanding Financial Solutions Provider 2017 - UK Company: Profile Software Email: ktsoura@profilesw.com Telephone: +44 (0) 203 752 6585 Web Address: www.profilesw.com GOAStudio Architects Company: GOAStudio Architects Email: george@goastudio.co.uk Telephone: 020 3872 2474 Web Address: www.goastudio.co.uk Ireland’s Leading Adviser in Business Restructuring - 2017 Company: Averian Global Email: info@averianglobal.com Telephone: 00353 1 660 3400 Web Address: www.averianglobal.com Best for Tax Advisory Services 2017 - Greece Company: Dinamiki EPE Email: dinamiki@dinamiki.com Telephone: 0030 2106 124 663 Web Address: www.dinamiki.com Canada’s Most Outstanding Law Firm 2017 - Labour Law Company: Labour Rights Law Office Email: info@LabourRightsLaw.com Telephone: 001 877 708 8350 Web Address: www.labourrightslaw.com

56 Acquisition International - January 2018

Join 108,000 Subscribers in Over 170 Countries What are you Waiting for? www.acquisition-intl.com/subscribe

Acquisition International - January 2018 57

58 Acquisition International - January 2018