Strategic Divestment

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2/2/13

Strategic Divestment Activity Expected to Increase in Next Two Years Due to Slow Economic Recovery - Ernst & Young - United States

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JenniferCompton Ernst&YoungLLP 9179037506 HannahJames FleishmanHillard 2124532104 Maximizingdivestment success

StrategicDivestmentActivityExpectedtoIncreaseinNextTwo YearsDuetoSlowEconomicRecovery
77%ofcompaniestoacceleratedivestmentplans46%plantodivestwithintwo years Inthelasttwoyears,shortterm"fastcashwasapriorityforsellers 73%ofcompaniesthatdivestleavemoneyonthebuyerstable NewYork,16January2013AccordingtoanewsurveyfromErnst&Young,companiesare increasinglyrefocusingondivestitureswithmorethanthreequartersofrespondentssayingthatthey intendtoacceleratetheirdivestmentstrategyoverthenexttwoyears.Thisisamarkedchangefromthe pasttwoyears,whennearly50%ofdivestmentsweredrivenbyaneedforaquickcashinjectionrather thanalongertermstrategicobjective. The2012GlobalCorporateDivestmentSurveyrevealsthatrespondentsrationaleforadivestmentis oftenfocusedonshorttermfinancialmotivesratherthanthelongertermstrategicbenefitforthe business. Sixoutoftenrespondentssaythemainfactorthatdetermineswhetherabusinessstayswithina companyportfolioornotisshorttermfinancialmeasures,forexample,whetheranassetdilutesor enhancesearningspershare(EPS),andhowitperformsagainstfinancialbenchmarkssuchasreturn oncapitalemployed(ROCE).Strategicdriverssuchasenhancingshareholdervalueorfocusingon corebusiness,comefurtherdowntheprioritylist. Thesurvey,conductedbytheEconomistIntelligenceUnit(EIU),isbasedonfeedbackfrom600senior corporateexecutivesglobally,aswellasaseriesofinterviewswithclients,investmentbanksandlaw firms. Inthepastfewyearsmanycompanieshavelookedtodivestmentstooffsetcashandcreditdifficulties andtodriveshareholdervalueasthesumofthepartsaregreaterthanthewhole,saysPaulHammes, Ernst&YoungLLPsAmericasLeaderforDivestitureAdvisoryServices.Thisshorttermthinkingis shiftinghoweverascompaniesplanforthelongtermandtakeamorestrategicapproachto divestitures. Companiesthatdiveststrategicallytendtoexceedtheirvaluegoals.Accordingtothesurvey,73%of companiesthatdivestleavemoneyonthebuyerstablefurtherhighlightingthebenefitsofamore strategicapproach.Inthisprolongedperiodofloworevenzerogrowth,divestmentswilllikelyplaya moreimportantroleinhowcompaniesnavigateuncertainty,meettheirstrategiccorporateobjectives andcreatevaluefortheirstakeholders. Arebusinessestellingthefullvaluestory? Fewerthan50%ofbusinessessaythattheyarecarryingoutallofthekeystepsrequiredtoenhance thevaluestoryoftheirdivestments.Fortysixpercentofglobalcorporationsareintheprocessoforare planningtodivestinthenexttwoyears.However,morethanhalfofthosesellingassetsarenot presentingtheirdivestmentsasattractivelyastheycouldtothebroadestrangeofpotentialbuyers.Asa resulttheyarenotmaximizingthevalueoftheirdivestments.

Ourstudyof567global executivesrevealsfiveleading practicesthatcanhelp companiesavoidleavingvalue onthetable.Learnmore . Humancapitalcarveout study:strategiesforsuccess

Inourlateststudy,wehighlight trendsandleadingpractices thatcanhelpcompaniesuse divestmentstoraise,optimize andpreservecapital.Learn more.

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2/2/13

Strategic Divestment Activity Expected to Increase in Next Two Years Due to Slow Economic Recovery - Ernst & Young - United States

Essentialstepssuchasvalidatingthemarket/product/growthstorywithindependentreview(50% respondents),developinganM&Aplanforpotentialinvestors(45%)andprovidingtheirownviewof synergyopportunitiesintheinformationprovidedtobuyers(43%)arebeingcarriedoutbyaminorityof thosebusinessesdivesting. Intodaysmarketbuyersaresavvierthanever,socorporatesellersneedtoviewthemselvesasthe buyerwouldinordertopresentthemostcompellingcaseforthedeal.Itiscrucialthatsellersenhance thevaluestoryoftheirdivestmentsandtailorthemtothefullrangeofpotentialacquirers,continues Hammes. Morethanhalfofrespondentssaidtheywouldrampuptheirdivestmentactivitiesifeconomicgrowth improved,buttherearedifferencesbetweenregions:65%ofrespondentsfromAsiaPacificsaythat theywouldincreasetheirdivestmentactivitybutareholdingbackduetoeconomicconditions,compared with60%fromtheAmericasand51%fromtheEMEAregion. Overall,manycompanieshavechosentoprioritizeoperationalimprovements,cuttingcostsand increasingefficiencyoverpursuingdivestmentsinrecentyears,waitingfortheeconomytorecover. However,theregionaldisparitiesmayindicatethatWesterndevelopedmarketcompanieshavebecome betteraccustomedtomacroeconomicgrowthchallengeshavingmanageduncertaintyforlonger andarenowmorewillingtodivestdespitetheeconomicenvironment. Manycompanieshavebeentakingawaitandseeapproachtodealmakinginthelastfewyearsas economicuncertaintypersists,andthisapproachmaybehereforawhileasaprolongedweak economicoutlookcontinues.However,accordingtoourresearch,manycompaniesmaybemissingout ongrowthandvalueopportunitiesbypostponingdivestmentplans,saysHammes. Supportingthisview,40%ofcompaniessaidahighdegreeofcompetitionintheM&Aprocesshelped driveupvalues. Rigorousportfoliomanagementandabroaderbuyerbasemaximizesuccess Whenaskedabouttheirmostrecentdivestments,onlyafifthofcompaniesoverallexceededtheir expectations.Respondentswithstructuredprocessesweremorelikelytohaveachievedstrategic goals:55%divestedaheadoftimeandexceededpriceexpectations.Ofthosedivestingwithout structuredprocesses,only34%metthoseexpectations. Sellersarealsonotalwaysconsideringthefullrangeofpotentialacquirersfortheirassets.Onlyathird ofpotentialsellersconsideroverseasbuyersinthesamesectorwhilejustafifthlooktodomestic buyersinadifferentsector.Only13%consideranoverseasbuyerinadifferentsectortobethemost likelyacquirer. Corporatesellerscouldalsobenefitbylookingbeyondcorporatebuyersforinstance,only3% considerprivateequityalikelyacquirer. Companieslookingtodivestmayincreasevaluebyappealingtobuyersinarangeofsectorsand marketsaroundworld,includingprivateequity,saysHammes. Employeeengagementensureslongtermdivestmentviability Themostsuccessfuldivestituresarethosethatfocusonemployeeengagementandretention, accordingtoErnst&YoungsHumanCapitalCarveoutStudy,whichsurveyedmorethan100 executivesexperiencedinglobalcorporatedivestiturestodeterminehowtheirhumancapitalinitiatives impacttheirdealsuccess.Thereportfoundthat85%ofsurveyrespondentssaythatemployee retentionisthebiggestdriverofcarveoutsuccess. Beforethedealissignedcorporatebuyersandsellersmustconsiderthelongtermvalueofthedeal fromapeopleperspectiveaswellandourresearchandexperiencehasfoundthatthosecompanies thatfocusonemployeecommunicationandretentionarethemostlikelytotranslatetolongtermvalue, continuesHammes. Thesoldstandard:goldenrulesforanysale TheGlobalCorporateDivestmentSurveyhighlightsprinciplesandpracticesthatwillhelpensurea successfuldivestment. Hammesconcludes:Thosecompaniesthatfocusonconsistentandstrategicpracticesincluding: wideningthenet,standinginthebuyersshoesandhavingalongtermvalueperspectivewillbemost likelytoachievedivestmentsuccess. NotestoEditors Ernst&Youngs2012GlobalCorporateDivestmentStudyrevealsfiveleadingpracticesthatsellers shouldfocusontomaximizedivestmentsuccess: Conductstructuredandregularportfoliomanagement:Therespondentsthathave structuredprocessesaremorelikelytohaveachievedstrategicgoals: Considerthefullrangeofpotentialbuyers:Appealingtoafullrangeofbuyers,including strategicandfinancial,domesticandoverseas,cancreatestronginterestforanassetand realizeapricethatexceedsexpectations. Articulateacompellingvalueandgrowthstoryforeachbuyer:Buyersaremore circumspectaboutthegrowthpotentialofbusinessesbeingofferedforsale.Fewsellers articulateastrongvalueandgrowthstoryfromtheperspectiveofthemostlikelybuyersof theirbusinesses.

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2/2/13

Strategic Divestment Activity Expected to Increase in Next Two Years Due to Slow Economic Recovery - Ernst & Young - United States

Preparerigorouslyforthedivestmentprocess:Selectchangestothepreparation processcouldhavemadeamaterialdifferencetovalue.Examplesincludeprotocolsfor informationsharingandconfidentiality,engagementwithtargetmanagementandinvestment byseniorteammembers. Understandtheimportanceofseparationplanning:Aclearseparationroadmapis identifiedbymorethanhalfofrespondentsasthemostincreasinglycomplexaspectof divestment.Otherchallengingareasincludenegotiatingtransitionservicesagreements (TSAs),estimatingstandalonecosts,taxplanninganddecisionsregardingthecompletion mechanism.Buyersthatdonotfullyunderstandthesefactorsperceivegreaterrisk,whichis oftenreflectedintheirofferingprice. AboutErnst&Young Ernst&Youngisagloballeaderinassurance,tax,transactionandadvisoryservices.Worldwide,our 167,000peopleareunitedbyoursharedvaluesandanunwaveringcommitmenttoquality.Wemakea differencebyhelpingourpeople,ourclientsandourwidercommunitiesachievetheirpotential. Ernst&YoungreferstotheglobalorganizationofmemberfirmsofErnst&YoungGlobalLimited,eachof whichisaseparatelegalentity.Ernst&YoungGlobalLimited,aUKcompanylimitedbyguarantee,does notprovideservicestoclients.Formoreinformationaboutourorganization,pleasevisitwww.ey.com. ThisnewsreleasehasbeenissuedbyEYGMLimited,amemberoftheglobalErnst&Young organizationthatalsodoesnotprovideanyservicestoclients. ###

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