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InHouse Profile
'OUR JOB IS
TO PROTECT THE
MOTHERSHIP'
VALSOFT'S GENERAL COUNSEL, DAVID FELICISSIMO, SPEAKS TO EMILY DOUGLAS
ABOUT THE ROLE OF IN-HOUSE TEAMS IN COMPLEX MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
IN 2023 alone, Montreal-based soware
giant Valso made 26 acquisitions – 12 in
North America and 14 across Europe, the
United Kingdom, and Australia. Sitting
at the legal helm is general counsel David
Felicissimo, who points out to Lexpert a shi
in focus toward bigger deals.
"One of our acquisitions in 2023 [was]
larger from an acquired revenue point of
view. We've done some larger acquisitions
than we have in the past, specifically in the
US and in Germany."
But it's in closing these acquisitions that
Felicissimo sets himself apart from other
in-house teams. Being a multinational organi-
zation with a valuation of over $1 billion, he
and his team are still very hands-on.
"Oentimes, we'll see that in-house teams
play less of an active role in terms of transac-
tions," says Felicissimo. "Our team will, for the
most part, handle most transactions in-house
when it comes to Canada, the US, the UK.
at's because we have people on the ground
who have vast experience with M&A at Valso."
Felicissimo says that Valso is completing
around 50 percent of its deals in-house. And
for the rest, they work with external partners
with solid and long-lasting relationships.
Despite the team's success, there are
still challenges faced during acquisitions.
Felicissimo identifies two key aspects. First,
they deal with sellers of small to mid-sized
businesses, navigating their stress and ensuring
a smooth transition. Second, they cope with
the complexities of different jurisdictions.
Felicissimo highlights the contrast between
deals in Italy and Spain compared to North
America. "In terms of jurisdictions, if you
"WE TRY TO AVOID THE DEAL BEING CONTINGENT ON
ONE PERSON. THE REASON IS IF A VACATION IS SET IN
THE MIDDLE OF A DEAL, WE WANT TO BE ABLE FOR
ANOTHER LAWYER TO STEP IN EFFICIENTLY"
