DOW JONES CASE STUDY

DOW JONES CASE STUDY
CLIENT: ALCATEL- LUCENT
Dow Jones Helps A Global Telecom Monitor
Emerging Technologies & Competitive Threats
With operations in more than 130 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a global leader
in mobile, fixed, IP and optics technologies, and a pioneer in applications and
services. Alcatel-Lucent includes Bell Labs, one of the world’s foremost centers
of research and innovation in communication technology. Alcatel-Lucent relies
on its Corporate CTO M&A Advisory team to research emerging companies
and technologies and advise on potential equity investments, mergers and
acquisitions (M&A), or partnerships.
THE NEED: Accurate Insight Into The Financing & Financial Health Of
Start-Up Companies
As Corporate CTO M&A Advisory Director for Alcatel-Lucent, Bob Regan is
part of a global team with personnel in the U.S., Europe, Israel and China.
Throughout the year, the team comes into contact with some 400-600 private
companies, many with venture financing. The team works to identify and
evaluate the 1% to 2% of those companies that may merit an equity investment
or acquisition offer as well as numerous potential ecosystem partners. AlcatelLucent has an active Strategic Investment and partnership strategy for
enhancing its range of business solutions.
The team also monitors the strategic investments of competitors, venture
capitalists and customers to gain insight into which communication
technologies are attracting interest. According to Mr. Regan, finding reliable
information on the financing, financial health and valuations of private
companies is a time-consuming task.
A Longtime Believer In VentureSource
Since 2003, Mr. Regan has used Dow
Jones VentureSource to complement and
validate his team’s research. He prefers the
online database because it’s more accurate
than publicly available Web sources or
technology blogs and it’s “more global
and start-up focused” compared to other
subscription services.
“
“We save about
10 hours for every
hour spent using
VentureSource.”
CLIENT GOALS
• Evaluate promising
companies globally
• Find comparable
companies
• Research operations of
companies
• Accurately price
valuations
• Monitor competitor &
customer moves
• Follow industry
investment trends
— Bob Regan, Director, Corporate
CTO M&A Advisory, Alcatel-Lucent
FAST FACT: 49 OF THE TOP 50 VENTURE CAPITAL FIRMS RELY ON VENTURESOURCE.
DOW JONES CASE STUDY
CLIENT: ALCATEL- LUCENT
WHAT DOES VENTURESOURCE OFFER?
Dow Jones VentureSource is an online database tracking the activities of private
investment firms and venture-backed companies in all industries and stages of
development, worldwide. It utilizes a strict research methodology built and refined
for more than 20 years to ensure the highest level of accuracy.
WHY CHOOSE DOW JONES?
“
“Compared to other
venture data providers,
VentureSource is more
global, accurate and upto-date.”
— Bob Regan
THE OUTCOME
VentureSource began tracking privately backed companies in 1992. With the new
interface introduced in 2011, users can monitor companies in more regions, easily
research market trends and quickly reach out to key decision-makers.
THE SOLUTION: Expanded Market Coverage & More Trend Insight
In 2011, Dow Jones VentureSource unveiled a new user interface with integrated news
content, deeper analytics capabilities and an expanded focus on emerging markets
and early stage investments.
The Alcatel-Lucent team transitioned to the new database and received training from
Dow Jones representatives. According to Mr. Regan, the new VentureSource features
“definite improvements,” most notably expanded emerging-markets coverage –
particularly in China, where Alcatel-Lucent operates as a joint-venture.
For potential candidates, the team uses VentureSource to quickly find and get a
snapshot of their funding information as well as that of comparable companies.
All information is checked against public information and validated with the target
company (or alternatives), if contacted.
In addition, Alcatel-Lucent gets fast insight into telecom investment trends with
VentureSource’s analytics tools. When team members need more information or
analysis, they call on the Dow Jones research staff to compile custom reports.
NEXT STEPS: EVEN BROADER, DEEPER COVERAGE
Dow Jones continues to refine and improve VentureSource’s research methodology,
working to expand its global research footprint and provide clients with more data
“
“We look at
VentureSource to see
who’s doing investments
in our space, including
our customers.”
— Bob Regan
“
“The database provides
quick, concise reports on
companies, spaces and
investments. It’s much
more efficient than a Web
search or a [personal]
contact.”
— Bob Regan
on more companies in more regions. Similarly, the product development team
continues to refine the user interface based on client feedback.
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