PVcase Anderson optimization acquisition & our role
On June 6th, 2023, in Vilnius, Lithuania, PVcase, the foremost authority in solar project design software, revealed its acquisition of Anderson Optimization by PVcase, the prominent global solar sitting software platform.
Today, we invite Daina Senapediene, the founder and attorney at FO Consulting group, who played an important role in this project, to reveal her insights and provide a behind-the-scenes look at its success.
What motivated you to take on the role of internal M&A project manager at PVcase?
First of all, I really like M&A projects in a general sense, and secondly, I was interested in PVcase as a company. Plus, they were looking for a lawyer with experience in managing projects of this size, with legal, financial, and tax knowledge. They were impressed by my experience in my last M&A project when the majority stake of Pigu.lt shares were sold to MidEuropa, and I saw an opportunity to show my expertise and learn something new.
I served as the internal project manager for both M&A deals. This meant I became part of the internal team for a few months. I enjoy analyzing corporate structure and creating improvements. I also help internal teams communicate and learn from one another.
Can you provide an example of a challenging decision you had to make at the acquisition of Anderson for PVcase? How did you approach it?
The US has peculiar tax rules, and we had to create the proper structure for the acquisition.
However, when we received the US tax advisors’ memorandum, I realized that implementing such a transaction structure from the Lithuanian side was impossible. I had to come up with a solution very quickly to keep the project moving and meet deadlines.
One of the most challenging tasks was finding a solution that satisfied all stakeholders. This includes founders, managers, current investors, new investors, and targets.
How did you align M&A objectives with PVcase’s overall strategic goals?
From the very beginning, I had an internal PVcase person working alongside me on the project, the Head of Strategy, Paulius Miecius, who ensured that the project was approached through an integration lens. It was a pleasure to work with a professional of this level.
I also stayed on after the acquisition to advise on the legal, tax, and financial side of the integration. This ensured the implementation of agreements during the deal and the continuation of the agreed direction.
Was there anything that you learned during the whole acquisition process?
It was once again confirmed how important it is to have an internal team in place from the start. To allocate responsibilities, to think about integration in advance, to communicate across departments, to share information, to allow internal people to do their jobs, but at the same time to be involved in the acquisition to some extent.
Clearly, for such processes, you need to hire external specialists with such knowledge. Still, you need to bring them inside because an external outsider will never be able to manage the project so well. If the internal people are driving without an external outsider, then they won’t be doing the rest of the work! Therefore, external advisors must become part of a team.
To sum up
Thank you so much, Daina, for sharing the experience! Those who are interested in working with FO Consulting group with similar matters, we invite you to contact us via email foconsulting@foconsulting.com
Still interested to learn more about this project? Watch the video below!
