Posted on December 15, 2009 by Michael J. Young

Valuation of Media and Technology Companies in Today's Environment

Reed Smith's Corporate Media and Technology group held an interactive breakfast panel discussion regarding the valuation of media and technology companies in today's challenging business environment. Attendees included executives from a range of high profile companies in the media, technology and investment industries. The panel featured leading individuals from the media, investment banking and financial services sectors who shared their insights into various aspects of factors affecting the valuation of media and tech companies in the current environment, while also discussing current trends and future outlooks for what looks set to be an uncertain marketplace going into 2010.

Key features of the discussion included:

  • Positive signs - increased activity in many sectors in Q3 2009 regarding potential transactions
  • Difficulty in accurately valuing companies in the current conditions
  • Managing the contrasting opinions of owners and potential buyers regarding valuations
  • The sectors most likely to see an upturn first in 2010

The panel members were:

Chris Whiteley - Ingenious Media, Robert Lees - Strata Partners, Chris West - Deloitte. The discussion was chaired by David Boutcher - Reed Smith.

The attached slides provide an outline of the key discussion topics.

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Posted on November 16, 2009 by Michael DiSanto

New Social Media White Paper and Seminar

Last Thursday, Reed Smith and Boyden Executive Search Agencies co-sponsored a well attended seminar in our New York offices where Douglas J. Wood, head of Reed Smith’s Media & Entertainment Industry Group, Sarah Needleman from The Wall Street Journal, and Kathy Ewing, assistant general counsel at Benjamin Moore, discussed the legal, social and economic implications of the social media and social networking revolution. 

If you missed the event, don't fret.  We have three MCLE-friendly seminars planned in our California offices on December 8th and 9th (details below) to discuss an industry-leading white paper that we just released entitled: Network Interference: A Legal Guide to the Commercial Risks and Rewards of the Social Media Phenomenon. The white paper, which includes contributions form our social media task force consisting of Reed Smith lawyers across many disciplines affected by or involved in the social media revolution, is an interdisciplinary piece that explores the compliance and litigation risks of social media from a broad spectrum of topics, including advertising, data privacy, employment, government contracts, product liability and securities.  This is a must read for anyone working in (or merely intrigued by) the world of social media.

As mentioned, we will be hosting a seminar entitled: It's 10:00p.m., Do You Know Where Your Brand Is? The discussion will include:

Joe Rosenbaum and Anthony Traymore will be speaking at the seminar, and for those with law degrees looking to satisfy their mandatory continuing legal education requirements, you will receive MCLE credit.  The times and dates of the seminar are as follows:

Session I

  • Tuesday, December 8, 2009
  • Breakfast / Registration: 8:30am - 9:00am (yes, free food); Program: 9:00am - 10:30am
  • Reed Smith's San Francisco Office:  101 Second Street, 18th Floor, San Francisco

Session 2

  • Tuesday, December 8, 2009
  • Lunch / Registration: 12:30pm - 1:00pm (yes, free food); Program: 1:00pm - 2:30pm
  • Reed Smith's Silicon Valley Office:  1510 Page Mill Road, Suite 110, Palo Alto

Session 3

  • Wednesday, December 9, 2009
  • Breakfast / Registration:  8:30am - 9:00am (again, free food); Program: 9:00am - 10:30am
  • Reed Smith's Century City Office:  1901 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 700, Los Angeles

Feel free to email me if you would like to be included on the event's email invitation list.

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