Rick Murphy, Cogent Growth Partners (“Alpharetta Tech Talk”, Episode 22)
Rick Murphy, CEO of Cogent Growth Partners, joins host John Ray to discuss his firm’s work with IT services companies seeking to expand through acquisition, why acquisitions are vital for acquiring talent, not just customers and revenue, why he calls his work “transaction therapy,” and much more. “Alpharetta Tech Talk” is produced virtually by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta.
Cogent Growth Partners
The Cogent team combines IT industry-specific acquisition transaction experience with deep IT operations know-how to help their clients and acquisition candidates in the IT Services sector discover the Opportunity-Delta© that will allow them to join forces and swiftly grow into a more successful company that can produce significantly improved financial results and greater equity value.
They have custom-tailored their due diligence workflows to the IT Services industry, so no time is wasted on generic requests, and all the information is loaded into their proprietary Transaction Analysis Modeling System (“TAMS©”) that allows them to assemble an in-depth breakdown of a Candidate company and not only understand their history and recent performance (like a Quality of Earnings report would) but go even further to look at current and future personnel, customers, operational needs, culture fit, consolidation opportunities, sales objectives, and more; uncovering the potential synergies that make the Opportunity-Delta© a reality.
Company website
Rick Murphy, CEO, Cogent Growth Partners
Rick Murphy is an innovative entrepreneur with deep merger & acquisition experience in the technology space and is the founding CEO and Managing Partner of Cogent Growth Partners, LLC. Since the company’s inception in 2010, Cogent has closed 130+ acquisition transactions for the firm’s buy-side clients in the Information Technology sector across the USA.
Expert at conceiving, planning, and leading comprehensive acquisition strategies to transform and enrich IT Service businesses, Murphy leads the Cogent team throughout the transaction life-cycle, from initial candidate recruiting, through due diligence, financial modeling, valuation, deal negotiation, and transaction structuring, to the creation and negotiation of all transaction documentation and the thoughtful consultation with all parties that is always needed to see a deal through to a successful closing.
Question/Topics Covered in this Interview
- Tell me about your company and what it does in its sector. Who are your clients?
- In the current remote work climate, how have IT Service Providers adapted and are those changes permanent?
- How have IT Service businesses fared economically over the last year and how has that affected your business?
- From your perspective, have their valuations changed in terms of acquisitions or mergers?
- What sets your company apart from other M&A advisories?
About “Alpharetta Tech Talk”
“Alpharetta Tech Talk” is the radio show/podcast home of the burgeoning technology sector in Alpharetta and the surrounding GA 400 and North Fulton area. We feature key technology players from a dynamic region of over 900 technology companies. “Alpharetta Tech Talk” comes to you from from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® and is hosted by John Ray.
Past episodes of “Alpharetta Tech Talk” can be found at alpharettatechtalk.com.
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