2005-07-13 Berkery, Noyes & Co. launches IT/Software/Services M&A group

Leading Information Industry Investment Bank Taps Three Technology Pros to Drive Effort

NEW YORK, July 13, 2005 — Signaling an aggressive move into the global information technology, software and services markets, Berkery, Noyes & Co., LLC announces the formation of an investment banking group to provide mergers & acquisitions advisory services to large and mid-size companies in this fast-moving segment.

The firm is adding three new managing directors to lead this effort: Shawn Miele and James Holzer bring years of technology and software industry mergers & acquisitions experience to the firm, having held leading roles in dozens of notable transactions. David Yockelson, a veteran technology industry research pro, will provide strategic research to technology industry clients and support the IT/software/services investment banking team with market insight.

“The combined transaction experience, industry contacts, business acumen and strategic foresight that these three possess will be invaluable to our technology and software clients as Berkery, Noyes & Co. extends its reach in these segments,” said Joseph W. Berkery, president of Berkery, Noyes & Co.  “It’s not enough to be transaction leaders in the information industry; we intend to be its thought leaders, as well.”
 
Having successfully managed numerous sell-side and buy-side transactions in the technology market, Berkery, Noyes expects its new IT/software/services group to establish a leading position in the most dynamic segment of the market, where transactions are valued in the $50 million to $500 million range.  In addition to M&A advisory services, the firm specializes in providing strategic and financial consulting, valuation, and strategic research across the broadly defined information industry.  

Shawn Miele has built a distinguished record of spearheading sell-side and buy-side transactions among mid-sized to large IT, software and services providers. As managing director and one of six partners at boutique investment firm Updata Capital, he initiated and closed more than 40 merger and acquisition transactions over seven years, ranging in size from $20 million to $500 million.  Mr. Miele has successfully represented private, public and venture-backed firms.  Prior to Updata Capital, Mr. Miele led a successful turnaround of Northeast Telecommunications, Inc. and worked for Bankers Trust’s Merchant Banking Group in New York and Hong Kong.

Jim Holzer has been involved with IT, software and services mergers and acquisitions advisory for more than sixteen years.  In recent months, Mr. Holzer ran an independent mergers and acquisitions firm, closing four transactions and completing three advisory assignments. During the previous five years, first with Prudential Securities and then at CIBC World Markets, he completed more than 30 transactions primarily in the technology and software areas.  His clients have included a wide range of public, private and venture backed technology companies.  Over the length of his career, working as an M&A and corporate finance investment banker with Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin and the investment banking groups of an international commercial bank and a leading accounting firm, Mr. Holzer has completed 80 transactions representing some $10 billion in value.  He earned an MBA in finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a BA in economics from Emory University.

David Yockelson joins Berkery, Noyes to lead the research effort in support of the firm’s mergers and acquisitions activity in the IT, software and services markets. He most recently served as vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, the leading technology research and advisory firm.  Gartner acquired Mr. Yockelson’s former company, META Group, in April 2005. Mr. Yockelson joined META Group in 1993 as an analyst and was subsequently promoted to service director and ultimately to Executive Vice President and Research Director for the firm.  His focal areas have included enterprise content management, supply chain and product lifecycle management, and ERP/infrastructure platforms.  A prolific author of research reports, market analyses and trend forecasts, Mr. Yockelson is a frequent speaker to industry groups and is regularly quoted in print and broadcast news media on technology topics.  He holds a BS in Computer Information Sciences from Pace University and is an accomplished endurance athlete and a member of the Westchester Triathlon Club.

Berkery, Noyes, founded in 1982, is one of the pre-eminent merger and acquisition firms serving the information industry, having completed more than 400 merger and acquisition transactions since inception.  The company is currently on pace for a record year, having closed eleven transactions in the first half of 2005 with an aggregate value of more than $1 billion. Among these are several involving information technology, software solutions and services providers, including Wolters Kluwer’s acquisition of PCi Corporation and the sale of Kurzweil Educational Systems to Cambium Learning.