Accountants team up with Oxford’s tech transfer arm for IP support service

This brings together Isis’s position as an expert in the IP-based project management field with Grant Thornton’s corporate finance capabilities. The firm ranks as number one M&A adviser for transactions up to £50 million, according to Thomson Financial, February 2008.

In 2007, the firm completed 89 M&A transactions of which 40 were acquisitions and 17 were technology driven.

Isis Innovation’s services include carrying out technology reviews and market assessments, developing tailored commercialisation strategies and IP roadmapping. On average the organisation files one patent a week and has assisted in the formation of more than 50 spin-out companies.

Wendy Hart, corporate finance partner at Grant Thornton, in Oxford said, “The effective acquisition and commercialisation of IP is paramount when it comes to generating profits, but the dynamic nature of the IP environment and the difficulty of identifying IP data from publicly available information can make it challenging to identify suitable targets.”

“Many established corporate financiers lack a detailed knowledge of the technology IP market, while boutique search firms tend to lack the capabilities to project manage the acquisition process through to its conclusion. [We offer] a complete acquisition support service that will see the deal through from start to finish.”

David Baghurst, Head of Group at Isis Enterprise, said, “We will be able to provide assistance in identifying the most valuable elements of a company’s current technology or IP portfolio, and how they might be developed or extended to make the business more profitable.”

“We can then help with the whole process from identifying the potential gaps in the portfolio, through to searching for relevant acquisition targets and then evaluating and valuing these targets.”