Keys to the Successful Acquisition of a Foreign Company

February 2016

Mergers & Acquisition Telecommunications

Abstract

Your CEO comes to you and says the company is considering acquiring a company in Europe. What do you do? First of all, you need to determine why your company is considering this acquisition. There are a number of reasons why a company may decide to pursue a foreign acquisition. By acquiring a foreign corporation, a company will be able to expand geographically and achieve greater diversification by establishing or expanding its presence around the world. This may change an investor’s perception about a company’s size, growth or stability. Other considerations could include increasing revenue, achieving greater market share, synergy of product and service offerings, acquiring desirable technology and products, transferring resources or seeking to achieve economies of scale. In addition, an acquisition may be driven by tax implications, financial restructuring, defensive manoeuvres to prevent a takeover, competitive or pricing pressures or a change in a company’s overall business strategy.

Author

Ronald Prague

Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Synchronoss Technologies Inc., USA

Ronald J. Prague is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Synchronoss Technologies, Inc., a publicly-held company based in Bridgewater, New Jersey, a position he has held since 2006, where he is responsible for all of the company’s legal affairs. Prior to joining Synchronoss, Mr. Prague held several positions with Intel Corporation, most recently as Group Counsel for Intel's Communication Infrastructure Group. Mr. Prague also practiced law with the New York law firms of Haythe & Curley (now Torys LLP) and Richards & O'Neil (now Morgan Lewis) where he focused on mergers & acquisition, securities, intellectual property, general corporate and litigation matters. Mr. Prague is a frequent speaker at various legal conferences and has written several articles on various legal issues. He has over 25 years of experience doing global transactions in the telecommunications and technology market. He was the recipient of the New Jersey Law Journal 2012 In-House Legal Work Management Award and a finalist for the NJBIZ 2012 New Jersey General Counsel of the Year. Mr.Prague is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Association Corporate Counsel, New Jersey, and is chairperson of the ACC New Jersey Small Law Committee and co-chairperson of the ACC New Jersey Technology Committee. He is also a member of the Livingston Youth Sports Council, the Board of the Livingston Lacrosse Club and the Board of the Livingston High School Girls Soccer Association. Mr. Prague is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and received a B.S., with distinction from Cornell University.

Company

Synchronoss Technologies Inc.

Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNCR) provides carriers, broadband/cable operators, device manufacturers, retailers and more with flexible and scalable technology solutions to empower the mobile world. From activation and provisioning to mobile content management, personalized cloud services, location based services and customer care, Synchronoss enables a seamless connected experience regardless of channel, device or operating platform. Synchronoss solutions allow its customers to take advantage of mobility and cloud solutions on a global scale. With Synchronoss, businesses anywhere can offer a broad array of products and services and expand into new market opportunities, all while providing a best-in-class experience.

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