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Mark Longo – Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Always be due diligence ready

In this episode Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures, is joined by Mark Longo, founder, and Managing Partner of Osler’s Vancouver office. They look back at 2021 and discuss a variety of topics from talking about the M&A momentum, record IPO numbers, valuations, secondaries, and the factors responsible for record setting deals and compare 2021 to previous years. Mark also provides some detailed insight into founders turning into investors after successful exits, the current IPO trend, foreign investments, and how current and future entrepreneurs can go about raising money and what they should have ready in their tool kit. The podcast ends with a book question.

Disclaimer

Key takeaways

02:20 – Maria kicks off by asking Mark about the transactions from 2021 – the financings and M&A that made for a record-breaking year.
04:10 – They compare last year with 2020, and even 2019, which leads to a discussion on the headline theme, valuations.
05:50 – Mark comments on other aspects of the deals - clean but competitive terms and the advantages of doing a secondary.
08:40 – Maria asks Mark about later stage vs earlier stage who talks about what is driving the uptick as well as the cyclical nature of the tech ecosystem.
14:20 – The conversation turns to sectors – which sectors have been active in the last 12 months? “It’s not restricted to one sector alone…”
17:30 – Mark highlights the three key trends he took away from 2021.
19:00 – Does Mark see the trend of foreign non-traditional crossover investors continuing?
24:20 – The conversation moves to the IPO landscape and the “flight to quality”.
30:15 – What is Mark’s take on M&A markets?
36:30 – So what should entrepreneurs who want to raise money do? “Be ready to go” and other tips.
37:55 – Mark has some advice for prospective investors as well.
42:40 – It’s the book question!
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