09.08.2009 : David Fishman of Vector Capital honored as Individual Technology Investor of the Year –North America
David Fishman of Vector Capital honored as “Individual Technology Investor of the Year – North America" by ACQ Finance Magazine
The M&A magazine ACQ Finance (www.amgl.co.uk) announced the results of its 2nd ACQ Finance Magazine Country Awards for Achievement. The ACQ Finance Awards are peer-review based, recognizing the firms and individuals who have had the greatest impact on their industries over the past year. An ACQ Country Award for Achievement is considered to be one of the most meaningful honors, because they are determined by the industry itself through an independent poll.
The following article on David Fishman’s accomplishment is featured in the ACQ Awards Supplement:
While the broader economy has been mired in a recession in the last year, David Fishman, a Partner at Vector Capital, has forged ahead with a number of transactions. To those who worked with Fishman during his ten years at Goldman Sachs, this is not surprising. While a Managing Director at Goldman, he advised on some of the most high-profile Technology M&A deals of the past decade (eBay/PayPal, Oracle/PeopleSoft, IBM/Rational Software Corp, etc.).
According to Alex Slusky, founder and Managing Partner of Vector, "We recruited David to Vector to enhance our ability to pursue large, complex technology buyouts. By leading a number of creative, groundbreaking investments, David is becoming one of the preeminent investors in the technology industry."
Fishman identified an opportunity to capitalize on the growing market in information security with a strategy of combining a number of smaller companies into one larger enterprise for scale. In 2007, he led the $640 million LBO of SafeNet, Vector’s largest transaction to date.
This spring, David led the largest technology buyout so far in 2009, the acquisition of Aladdin Knowledge Systems. Vector Capital took Aladdin private in a $160 million deal, the most significant LBO of a public Israeli company. The process was prompted by Vector’s public market stake in Aladdin. “Vector is extremely creative in how we analyze and execute transactions,” said David Fishman. “In this case, our team was able to leverage the expertise we had gained through our work with SafeNet to gain conviction to buy a large public stake in Aladdin and work with shareholders and the Company to complete a fair transaction for all parties.”
Since the deal closed in March, the companies have been operating under common management and collectively form the third largest information security company in the world with nearly $500 million in revenue. Together, SafeNet and Aladdin have more than 50 years of security expertise in more than 100 countries around the world.
The Aladdin and SafeNet transactions typify Vector Capital’s focus on value investments in the technology sector. Founded in 1997, Vector currently manages over $2 billion in equity capital. Vector has created significant value for both portfolio management teams and limited partners with an investment track record that consistently places the firm at the very top of the industry.
Other notable investments include LANDesk Software, Savi Technology, Corel Corporation (Nasdaq: CREL), Precise Software Solutions, Printronix, Register.com, Tripos, WinZip, and Watchguard Technologies.
Contact:Vector Capital
One Market Street, Steuart Tower, 23rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-293-5000
ksolomon@vectorcapital.com
For the original article, please refer to page 72 in the ACQ Awards Supplement:
http://view.vcab.com/?vcabid=lgSgrnhSgeher