Download the interview with John Currie in mp3 format (4.7MB) - February 15, 2007

8:00 – 9:00

Continental Breakfast

9:00 – 9:15

Introduction

9:15 – 10:15

Values & Trends

Who’s buying? Who’s selling? What are they paying and what terms are the buyers insisting on? In this session, a panel of 3 experts comes out of the trenches just long enough to tell you what’s really going on out there.

After the individual presentations, the panel will field questions from the audience.

Panel:
Brian Begert, YellowPoint
Randy Garg, PWC
Matthew Peters, Partner, McCarthy Tetrault

10:15 – 10:45

Coffee Break

10:45 – 11:00

Value Overview: A quick primer on how company value is set

John McDonald will give a brief overview of Price Discovery & Comparables and their impact on setting Company values.

Speaker: John McDonald, President, Rampworth Capital Services Inc.

11:00 – 12:00

What’s Your Company Worth?

Putting a price on the business is one of the hardest things that a business owner can do, yet a realistic understanding of the company value can make or break the deal. As if that weren’t enough, the “right” price is different depending who you are selling to (a Competitor vs. a Strategic Buyer or an Insider vs. a professional investor). In this session, panelists take the mystery out of putting the “right price on your company, by providing a simple (plain English) explanation of the most common methods of establishing a fair market value.

Three common scenarios will be specifically addressed:
1. Selling to Competitors or Strategic Buyers
2. Selling to Insiders (management or staff)
3. Raising money from professional investors (Venture Capitalists)

After the individual presentations, the panel will field questions from the audience.

Panel:
Paul Buck, Buck Capital
James Livingstone, Partner, Wolrige Mahon
Bob Embury, Strategic West

12:00 – 12:15

Financial Tools for Reducing Risk (and reducing Vendor Take-back)

Speaker:
Axel Christiansen, Investment Manager, Van City Capital

12:15 – 1:00

Lunch

Sponsored by

1:00 – 2:00

Marketing the Deal

How would you market a new product if you had to keep it a secret? How would you promote it to prospective buyers, while at the same time keeping your competitors and customers from finding out? These problems and more are faced everyday when business owners market their company to investors and strategic buyers, yet some people do a masterful job while others flounder.

In this session, our panel of experts share some of the proven secrets for, among other things, finding the right prospects, promoting under the radar, and managing the complexity of a confidential offering.

Panel:
Ben Nyland, Sr. Associate, Rampworth Capital Services Inc.
David Shore, Principal, Stirling Mercantile Corporation
Blair Horne, Partner, Fasken Martineau

2:00 – 3:00

Negotiating a Successful Deal

It’s one thing to find someone who’s interested in owing your company… it’s a whole other thing to get them to take the money out of their wallet and put it into yours. This is no widget you’re selling. Successfully closing on the sale of a company requires a prolonged and high stakes negotiation. The pressure is high, tensions run thick, and the dance is choreographed to a set of unspoken rules that govern behavior throughout.

In this session, seasoned deal makers share some practical tips and instructive war stories, so that you walk away with a clear list of do’s and don’ts for your big negotiation.

After the individual presentations, the panel will field questions from the audience.

Panel:
David Haber, Morneau Sobeco Income Fund
Brad Newby, M&A Lawyer, Partner, Farris Vaughn
Neil Patton, Pre-Think

3:00 – 3:30

Break

3:30 – 4:30

Advisory Options

The creation of a strong advisory team is critical to the success of any financial offering, but where do you start. In this session, our panel of experts identifies what matters and what doesn't, what it costs and what you get in return.

Panel:
Mike Desjardins, Driver, ViRTUS
Ralph Scobie, Chief Executive Officer, Cogneto
Mike Steele, Director, Windy Point Financial Corp.

4:30 – 5:00

Conclusion: What To Do With All That Money

Many Business owners dream of cashing out and retiring, but few will ever make it into the category of the ultra-wealthy… but that doesn’t mean we can’t hear their secrets for managing money.

Speaker: John Currie, The John Currie Family Office Group - RBC

5:00 – 6:30

Wine & Cheese/Networking

Business owners rarely get a chance to mingle in a roomful of peers, so stick around and enjoy a glass of wine and some conversation. Panelists and sponsors will be available for questions on the exhibition floor.