BDA consultants can help your firm with the most difficult strategic issues, whether this involves company or product portfolios, broad strategies, or strategies specific to a new technology, product or business area.  BDA will put together a team of expert consultants with the technical and business competencies required for your specific needs and required output.  It is common that the project development process leads to new and helpful insights to company management.

Intellectual Property, Technology, Product & Market Analysis

BDA consultants can help you understand the facts and realities surrounding your business, which is critical for making effective plans and decisions.  It is often more efficient to have third parties provide this information and, indeed, it is often easier for third parties to gather information that involves competitors and supply chain partners.  Using a third party to gather and represent information also ensures that the process is objective and is not simply being used to justify existing positions.  BDA has extensive experience in gathering information and ensuring that the results provide a comprehensive view of the situation.

Business Planning & Implementation

BDA has been involved in the formation of many businesses both as independent start-ups and as corporate ventures.  This base of experience has taught us the right approach to business planning and how those plans can be most effectively communicated to stakeholders to gain buy-in and funding.

BDA can create business plans and strategies at any level of detail required by the business and this can be done either independently or in support to management.  A plan is only as good as the implementation that follows and BDA often continues to provide support during the implementation process and BDA personnel have even taken the role of CEO for early-stage companies.  BDA is particularly capable in creating business relationships with other companies, whether this is a client or development partner.

Strategic Alliances, Partnering & Product Development Agreements

BDA has established and managed many strategic alliances and believes that this is a very effective way for companies to pull together necessary development competencies and provide operating funds.  It is important that this process be well-managed from the beginning because it is very difficult to correct a failed approach to a potential partner.   The company must be properly prepared to start the discussions and the approach must be at the appropriate level in the target company.   Establishing strategic alliances is a process and in many ways an art, where experience not only decreases costs, but is a basic requirement for success. Partnering transactions are the most active service area for BDA.

BDA can provide complete or partial support to the entire process:

                  Positioning technologies & products:

                    What is important to the target company and industry?

 

                                      Identifying industry partners and investors:

                               Identifying targets can be methodical and is not difficult, but how does one

                               find the right person in the target organization and create an effective internal sponsor?

 

                        Deal structures and contractual considerations:

                                         What is a reasonable offer and what are the options for creating an acceptable deal for

                            both parties?  How should one deal with sticky legal issues such as "freedom-to-operate" warranties?

Acquisitions, divestments & corporate spin-outs

The deep knowledge of the industries in which we work makes BDA very effective for support to acquisitions and divestments.  We know who to talk to and how to justify values and we are always familiar with the current strategic environment within the major players in the industry.  BDA does not handle large transactions, but can be the most effective and efficient means to acquire or divest smaller businesses and assets.

 BDA can support your business as an industry expert on due diligence.

BDA can also help your company realize latent value from your technologies and IP portfolios by organizing technology spin-outs.  Spin-outs are a common way that universities create value for intellectual property, but are less common in the corporate world even though the private sector has an abundance of under-utilized technologies available for spin-outs.  While a spin-out may be the divestment of an entire operating business, technologies and IP portfolios can be packaged into new entities that focus in non-core markets or distinctive industries. This process can provide attractive returns to improve the ROI of R&D investments.  Technology is generally developed for specific internal applications and the internal focus logically prevents development outside of those areas even though the potential value of the technology may be equal or greater in non-core industries. 

BDA consultants are available to assist companies in analyzing the potential values of technologies outside of their strategic fields and can support the entire divestment process to ensure that internal activities are not diluted.  These technology and IP spin-outs are a very interesting way for companies to improve their return on R&D investments and even to increase R&D spending with funding from 3^rd parties.

Equity financing

BDA is not specialized in financing, but this activity is a natural extension of our business.  Successful financing requires good business plans, but presentation and personal rapport with the investors is also critical. BDA has been successful in this arena due to our familiarity with the industries in which we work and sources of investment capital within those industries. Venture capitalists who invest in agribusiness are generally familiar with our planning and business development competencies and we have worked for several VCs providing development support to their investment companies or to analyze opportunities prior to investment.  We are also familiar with the investment arms of many corporations with interest in agriculture, food and related fields.  Equity investments can be part of a strategic alliance deal and this can allow a business to secure operating funds at more attractive valuations than may be available from VCs, but this funding must be carefully weighed against potential limitations to future funding and business.

BDA consultants can assist your firm in identifying sources of capital, positioning the investment opportunity and moving to successful completion of the financing transaction.