Drilling for Profits

Buyside - March 2003

Sales of gas-glugging SUVs outpace most other vehicles.  The eastern U.S. shivers in the grip of one of the coldest winters in recent memory. War with Iraq grows more likely every day. These seemingly disparate facts of American daily life all have one thing in common: They are all positive signs for investors in the oil and natural gas industries. Experts say investors haven’t yet warmed to the notion of investing in the oil and gas sector, even though the outlook is encouraging. Companies ranging from the international “super majors” whose operations cover the entire spectrum from searching for new oil- fields to filling an automobile’s gas tank to the independent firms with specialty niches like seismic data analysis that are both profitable and undervalued — still a rare combination in today’s markets.
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Prospective Buyers Approach Dot-com Deals with Caution

Journal of Turnaround Management - June 2001

The dot-com phenomenon is streaking back toward Earth in a fiery display even more spectacular than its meteoric rise just a couple of years ago. In the rush to capitalize on readily available venture capital and the promise of huge payoffs through initial public offerings, thousands upon thousands of companies were created in just a few short years. Some recognized the Internet's potential as perhaps the most pervasive and flexible media to come along so far and developed truly unique business models, created innovative new tools or simply muscled their way to powerful first-mover advantage in their respective markets. But for every company with a product people will actually pay for and a truly promising revenue model, thousands were just along for the ride.
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Quality Companies Move to the Pink Sheets

Buyside Magazine - May 2002

For most public companies, being “in the pinks” has been a stigma to be avoided at all costs. Savvy investors viewed these stocks as a “pink flag” signifying that the company was in trouble. And for years, the pink sheets were inhabited primarily by over-hyped and often worthless penny stocks foisted off on unwitting investors looking for that one cheap investment that was going to make them wealthy. Others were troubled companies that were just passing through on their way to oblivion.
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A Former Reporter Describes Simple Steps to Working with the Media

eReleases.com - September 2002

Building a successful relationship with the press in your target industry is a frequently misunderstood process.

Treat the media the way you treat your customers. Why are the best companies successful? More than pitching their products, they listen. They ask questions to determine the customer's needs, then try to fill that need. When your client complains he or she doesn't understand the media, use this sales analogy. It's a context they recognize.
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One-man nano investment bank plays matchmaker to firms, funders

Small Times - March 2003

Here's one more sign the nanotech industry is getting closer to maturity: A former Wall Street analyst is creating what he calls the first investment bank focused solely on the nano business.

NanoTech Financing Solutions LLC was formed late last year by R. Douglas Moffat, who wants to help startups with promising technologies navigate the treacherous waters of corporate finance. It's a one-man firm right now, but eventually Moffat wants to branch out and launch a venture capital fund to invest in nanotech companies.
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New Corporate Governance Measures Lengthen Deal Cycle

A Mergers & Acquisitions Advisor Exclusive Report - September 2002

New laws and regulations aimed at stemming the tide of corporate fraud will have a lasting impact on mergers and acquisitions. And while the short-term impact is slowing the already glacial pace of merger activity, in the long run, the new rules will help deals get done, experts say.

In late July, President George W. Bush signed the Sarbanes-Oxley act into law. Called the most sweeping reform of U.S. securities laws since the 1930s, Sarbanes-Oxley is part of an allfronts effort to restore faith in corporate leaders. The SEC has passed rules creating a new accounting oversight board and is beefing up its enforcement efforts.
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