Case Study
Valamis
Overview
Valamis was an IT consulting firm specialising in the education sector which had internally developed a disruptive EdTech software which it sold to enterprise customers. Given the potential of the software, the shareholders were looking for the best strategy to maximise the long term value of the business whilst realising some of the value they had built over the years as part of a transaction.
Approach
Services-Led Operations – The entire business was being managed as a services business and did not monitor key SaaS KPIs required to scale the software component so we helped define and implement a KPI-driven approach for the SaaS business
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Strategic Decisions – Management were unsure of how they could maximise shareholder value on a transaction whilst positioning the business optimally for long term success. There were a variety of option being considered, including focusing on growing its software business or continuing to focus on its legacy “cash cow” specialist IT consulting business. We helped management clearly set out their options in order to enable them to make an informed decision
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Invest vs Sell Options – Hugo was retained to advise on the sale of the business but given the complexity of the business model, a very detailed financial model was required to validate the ROI of the various options and also support the investment case of the prospective Private Equity acquirer
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High Growth Ambitions – Management were looking to accelerate growth globally and expand into the highly-lucrative US market which required some deep level strategic thinking
Result
The shareholders ultimately decided to focus on its software business and found the right investor that could help them deliver their ambitious international growth plan, particularly in the US market.