Who I am & what I want to add to the M&A market
The M&A market is always on the move. Looking for growth and added value, reducing risk, improving performance, trying to get a grip on the future of business. Eventually it boils down to assets, value and financing. Nothing new you might say, and essentially this is true.
But something has changed in the market place. The digital aspect of doing business is taking over the traditional way businesses generate value. Physical assets, historical market performance, in-company knowhow, they still are important but in our digital world they matter less day by day. The new challenges in M&A are digital. Questions may be:
- What is the value of the company’s digital assets such as websites, online tools, ecommerce sites or online platforms?
- Will the company’s assets withstand new digital challengers?
- Will the acquisition of a promising digital asset materialize?
In other words, what about the worth of digital assets?
Who is WebWorth Partners?
WebWorth Partners is founded by me, Paul Haarman. Essentially it is my own consulting firm but I do work with independent specialists if necessary. In assessing values of websites and ecommerce sites I will also be the one who will advise you. When digital tools or new online techniques are involved extra expertise may be hired within the network. WebWorth Partners may work as part of the already established M&A team adding extra light on digital assets. That is why the word “partner” is added to the name.
Company mission
The mission of WebWorth Partners is to help the M&A process in supplying answers about the worth of digital assets. I assist M&A advisors and consultancy firms in valuing digital assets. I support investors in their decision making about acquisitions, consolidations, sales and mergers concerning digital assets.
Why WebWorth Partners?
WebWorth Partners is founded to assist the M&A process in assessing digital assets. I will dig into the core of websites and ecommerce sites to uncover their real value. I will look at strengths and weaknesses and try to disclose hidden opportunities and threats. In cooperation with financial specialists within the M&A team I will value these digital assets and gain insights about their worth, opportunity for growth and possible pitfalls.
Who do I work for?
I work for all parties involved in M&A, digital investments and consolidations. As an investor you may hire me to take a closer look at the digital assets at hand before closing the deal. As an M&A consultant you may hire me to add extra insights about the digital assets involved. As an investment bank you may hire me to gain extra knowledge about the digital part of the deal.
When to hire me?
Whenever a thorough insight or informed opinion about digital assets is needed or desired. This may be the case in different crucial moments of a company’s life time. Consider the following situations:
- Venture capitalists who want a second opinion about digital assets involved before acquiring stock
- M&A firms who need insights about digital assets as part of their advice
- Providing a digital asset valuation as part of a due diligence process
- Helping investors in making decisions about digital assets
- Consulting investment banks and financial institutions about the worth of digital assets of a private or public company
Who is Paul Haarman
Paul Haarman studied Marketing at HEAO Breda The Netherlands and Business Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam The Netherlands. Since 1999 he has been active in the realm of digital marketing both as a consultant to other companies and as an online entrepreneur.
“As a seasoned digital marketing consultant I realized that what we used to call online marketing expenses evolved into digital assets.
A company website or ecommerce site isn’t a digital leaflet, it even isn’t a channel, it is a digital asset that in many cases has evolved in THE most important asset that brings in sales and profits.
“As digital marketeers we are a very result driven species mainly focused on driving direct results in leads, sales and profits. This short term direct approach often obscures the long term value of our efforts.
In analyzing data over longer periods of time I saw a continuing build-up of value within our digital entities. In my view they are digital assets that when nurtured and taken care of will hold value just like physical real estate.
In 2013 I started to think about building a method of website valuation. As an online marketing consultant I had access to analytical data of hundreds of websites from all sorts of industries in all sorts of markets (B2C and B2B).
So I began the work of analyzing data and looking for signals that hinted at value creation. After a lot of work and tinkering I established the first method of valuing a website. You can read my findings in the 2018 published book Website Valuation (available at Amazon stores around the world).
From 2013 on I published some articles about valuing websites which attracted companies that were in the middle of a takeover. That is how I became involved in the process of selling and investing in digital assets. During that process I also came to 2 conclusions:
- Most companies have no idea about the value of their websites and online shops. They either vastly underestimate or overestimate the worth of their digital assets.
- There is almost no knowledge of the worth of digital assets available at the usual deal consultants such as accountants, investment consultants and M&A specialists. I can’t blame them for that. It really acquires a thorough understanding of online marketing techniques and online market growth opportunities to be able to gauge a website on its merits and weaknesses.
To make a long story short: I think the M&A market place needs a more thorough understanding of the worth that is embedded in digital assets. I want to share my knowledge and experience in disclosing this often hidden value to all parties involved in the M&A process.
I assist the M&A process on individual deals, I share my knowledge through training sessions and master classes and I write books and articles about the subject. In the meantime I am still active as a digital marketing consultant, that is because I love my original profession and it will bring me the needed insights to do my job as a digital asset consultant.”