Topic: Technology and innovation

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The (Artificial) Intelligent Investor

Investor advice platforms, at both the retail and institutional level, have evolved in recent years – from the use of classic literature to expanded services offered by brick-and-mortar firms. However, with the growth of app-induced innovation, various robo-advising platforms have taken the lead in providing investors with seamless, efficient, and cost-effective means of advice. We … Continue reading

Funding M&A Deals with Bitcoin

By Alexandra David on April 1, 2021 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

As Bitcoin gains increasing traction since its inception 11 years ago, we begin to question whether it will slowly replace traditional dollar funding in M&A deals. Whether Bitcoin will be used to fund large M&A deals will likely depend on its ability to stabilize in value. One of the most common concerns of using Bitcoin … Continue reading

Transforming Adversity into Opportunity: The Need for New Technologies Fuels Insurance M&A

By nrfdigitalteam on March 18, 2021 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way in which we interact with the world. From working, to shopping, to socializing, most aspects of our daily lives have moved to the online world. Consumers now expect effective online platforms for all goods and services, and businesses have been forced to adapt quickly. The need for robust … Continue reading

Visiting the Doctor in a Virtual World Provides Business Opportunities in Telehealth

By nrfdigitalteam on March 11, 2021 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

It is no secret that during 2020 and into 2021 the COVID-19 pandemic has created massive disruptions for a variety of industries. One such example is the movement of health care services online in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines. A wide variety of technology and applications to facilitate this, referred to as telehealth … Continue reading

Goodwill Hunting: The Value, Protections and Role of Intangible Assets in M&A Transactions

By Jamie Parker on December 1, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, M&A, Technology and innovation

We have previously discussed goodwill as a distinct asset in purchase agreements. In this post, we explore the growing value of goodwill and other intangible assets in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and the legal issues parties should consider when seeking to value, protect and exploit these assets. Intangible assets are often the most significant portion … Continue reading

The Dynamic Duo: Cyber-security and Due Diligence during the COVID-19 Pandemic

By nrfdigitalteam on November 6, 2020 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

The widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (“pandemic”) continues to highlight the several ways in which M&A transactions have had to adapt to changing times, particularly by ramping up cyber-security measures in a digital world. Prior to the pandemic, there already existed a shift towards cyber-security due diligence since many businesses relied on digital assets. … Continue reading

The Smart Choice: A Predictive View in Revamping M&A Contracts

By nrfdigitalteam on October 28, 2020 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

The current pandemic presents a unique opportunity to revitalize traditional M&A process and provisions. While we have previously addressed how traditional M&A provisions are impacted by the pandemic, this blog post will explore the key opportunity industries and corporations alike have in improving contractual processes. Specifically, through the use of blockchain technology and smart contracts. … Continue reading

M&A Opportunities in the COVID-19 Digital Transformation

By nrfdigitalteam on October 23, 2020 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

While the COVID-19 pandemic initially had a general chilling effect on merger and acquisition (“M&A”) activity, we have seen an increase in M&A activity recently, particularly as industries rapidly adapt to the new environment and consider opportunities. Both consumer preferences and business models have been forced to change quickly due to the circumstances of the … Continue reading

Fintech M&A Activity in 2020: The Digital Economy is Here

By nrfdigitalteam on August 5, 2020 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

Paying for Payments While uncertainty arising from the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down most deal activity, Fintech, in particular the payments space, is a big exception. Recent analysis from KPMG revealed that UK payment deals in the first quarter of 2020 alone exceeded the total number of deals in 2019. Granted, deal sizes were relatively … Continue reading

Providing or Procuring Ed-Tech Products? Educate Yourself about Privacy Matters

By Shreya Gupta (Toronto) on June 30, 2020 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

A new wave of advancement in the education industry has emerged. Schools, universities and colleges are relying more on technology now than they ever have before – and this reliance on technology will only increase in the coming years. Educational institutions are using technological solutions to assist in teaching, engaging in discussions with their students … Continue reading

Evaluating the Legal Risks of Data Assets in M&A

By Jamie Parker on March 31, 2020 Posted in M&A, Privacy and data protection, Technology and innovation, Uncategorized

Data is an essential asset for many businesses, and one that is increasingly acquired through M&A transactions. Identifying and assessing the particular legal challenges of data assets is crucial for acquirers to mitigate the risks associated with these assets and unlock their full value. While issues will depend on the particulars of each transaction, the … Continue reading

Acqui-hiring: What we know and what we need to know from a Canadian perspective

By nrfdigitalteam on March 10, 2020 Posted in Employment and labour, M&A, Technology and innovation

“Acqui-hire” transactions, which are particularly prevalent in the context of start-up technology-related M&A transactions in the U.S., focus on acquiring a company primarily to obtain its employees and their skills, in addition to other possible assets (see our earlier post on acqui-hires). In these type of transactions, it is thought that the greatest perceived value … Continue reading

Examining data analytics in M&A

By nrfdigitalteam on March 6, 2020 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

The M&A world continues to evolve as transactions are becoming more diverse and complex. Timelines are getting shorter and acquirors have less time to assess their targets but more pressure to justify their acquisitions. Acquirors must simplify the process of acquiring a target, while simultaneously improving the accuracy of their predictions about the acquisition’s profitability. … Continue reading

2019 in Review: eSports edition

By Joseph Palmieri (Toronto) on February 5, 2020 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

The eSports industry experienced monumental growth in 2019 and is well underway to becoming a financially lucrative market. By the end of last year, eSports had over 433 million global viewers, more than American Football and rugby combined, and is expected to reach over 645 million viewers in 2020. For perspective, the 2019 League of … Continue reading

Cybersecurity in M&A Transactions: Friend or Foe?

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on November 8, 2019 Posted in M&A, Privacy and data protection, Technology and innovation

The heavy reliance on technology in today’s data-driven world means that cybersecurity threats must be taken seriously. More specifically, with respect to M&A transactions, a target’s cybersecurity mechanisms have become an important part of the due diligence consideration. Indeed, it is important to have a firm grasp on the nature and extent of a target’s … Continue reading

Chamber of Digital Commerce Releasing the First Ever Comprehensive Report on Canada’s Blockchain Ecosystem

By nrfdigitalteam on October 17, 2019 Posted in Technology and innovation

Over the last decade in which the digital economy has grown at an unprecedented pace across industry sectors, blockchain technology and distributed ledger technology have shown the ability to reform the ways in which businesses and governments operate. To better understand Canada’s blockchain ecosystem, on October 4, 2019, the Chamber of Digital Commerce Canada released … Continue reading

Emerging Trends in Information Technology (IT) Mergers and Acquisitions

By nrfdigitalteam on October 11, 2019 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

Canada’s burgeoning information technology (IT) sector is a standout in the Canadian mergers and acquisitions landscape. A recent report by Duff & Phelps illustrates that in the first half of 2019, IT was the third most active deal-making sector in Canada with over 104 closed transactions. Against this backdrop, three trends emerge: ‘Buying into’ privacy … Continue reading

Venture capital investment once again shows strong year-over-year growth in H1 2019

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on September 12, 2019 Posted in Corporate finance, Technology and innovation

The Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (the CVCA) recently published its 2019 first half (H1 2019) report on Canadian venture capital (VC) and Canadian private equity (PE) investment. Over the past year, Canadian VC investment has continued its ascent, reaching unprecedented heights and experiencing its strongest first half performance on record. Conversely, Canadian PE … Continue reading

The growth and expansion of streaming services

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on August 15, 2019 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

The source of our television services is significantly changing from traditional cable and television services to online providers. The actively changing television service landscape is because of the growth of over-the-top (“OTT”) media services. Growing Popularity According to a report by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, OTT services are television services that are provided through … Continue reading

Merge with caution: the future of food delivery services

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on July 25, 2019 Posted in Technology and innovation

The convenience and efficiency of meal ordering applications (“apps”) has led to a rapid development in food delivery services. However, despite the ever-growing popularity of online takeout, the increase in food-delivery companies and the decrease in restaurants offering food delivery service is slowing the growth of what could be a lucrative market. Consumers of this … Continue reading

“DARQ” technology and disruptive M&A: gearing up for the “post-digital era”

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on July 18, 2019 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

As technology has become embedded into most parts of our lives, the majority of companies have completed a digitization process. Maintaining a digital platform has become the new norm, and increasingly sophisticated technologies continue to be developed. Accenture’s Technology Vision 2019 (Vision Report), describes this as the transition to the “post-digital era,” where “digital” is … Continue reading

AI as a solution for cybersecurity problems in M&A deals

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on July 4, 2019 Posted in M&A, Privacy and data protection, Technology and innovation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has immense potential as a solution for cybersecurity vulnerabilities in M&A deals. Generally, M&A deals generate value and as such, understanding vulnerabilities on the acquirer and target sides is important for completion of the transaction. With the common usage of networks and servers to store high volumes of data by corporations, vetting for cybersecurity attacks has become a … Continue reading

Good eats: rising interest in dairy & meat alternatives driving M&A activity

By Olga Lenova (Toronto) on June 26, 2019 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

As consumer demand for dairy and meat alternatives increases, established food manufacturers are looking to supplement their offerings by entering into M&A transactions with emerging meat and dairy alternative manufacturers. According to a recent report by the Good Food Institute (GFI), there have been 46 completed investments and acquisitions of vegan food manufacturers in 2018 … Continue reading