Today’s big corporate money deals are not buying tangible assets such as inventory, equipment and real estate. And big money finance deals are not being secured by tangible assets. The big M&A and financing deals are now targeting the most valuable business asset in the world – Intellectual Property.
The size of big money deals acquiring or securing IP portfolios continue to get larger. Recently one of the biggest-ever specifically IP-based finance deals was closed in China. Quanlin Paper secured a loan of approximately $1.3 billion against it’s IP portfolio of 34 trademarks and 110 patents. According to news reports, this is the largest deal to date ever secured by an IP portfolio.
Worldwide M&A deals are being driven by valuable multi-billion dollar IP portfolios. These companies recognize the value of IP and what it means to their ability to grow and maintain their competitive advantage.
Here’s a list of some the biggest US IP deals:
- Google buys Motorola Mobility for $12.4 billion in August 2011 and attributes $5.5 billion to the value of Motorola’s patents.
- The Nortel patent portfolio sold at auction to the Rockstar Bidco consortium for $4.5 billion in June 2011.
- Alcatel-Lucent loan of $2.1 billion from Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs secured against 29,000-strong patent portfolio in December 2012.
- Microsoft pays AOL $1.065 billion for portfolio of 1,100 patents and licenses in April 2012.
- Facebook buys 650 patents from Microsoft, which Microsoft had previously acquired from AOL, for $550 million, April 2012.
- Consortium led by Intellectual Ventures and RPX pays $525 million to acquire portfolio of Kodak digital imaging patents, December 2012.
- Purchase of 882 Novell patents for $450 million by Microsoft-led consortium, November 2010.
- InterDigital sells 1,700 wireless technology patents and related rights to Intel for $375 million, June 2012.
- Purchase of MIPs patent portfolio for $350 million by Bridge Crossing, November 2012.
In today’s economy, the most successful companies are built on intellectual property and licensing. IP rights gives your business a significant competitive advantage. More importantly, the strategic use of your IP assets through licensing creates long term profits for your business.
To succeed in this IP Centric economy, your business must fully utilize it’s IP assets to successfully compete, grow and gain new market opportunities.
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Rand Brenner is an IP professional whose passion is helping inventors, startups, and businesses of all sizes use licensing to turn their IP into income-producing products, services, and technologies. His decades of experience run the gamut from medical devices to food technology to consumer products. He’s licensed some of the biggest Hollywood entertainment blockbusters including the Batman Movies (1 and 2), and the number one kid’s action TV show, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Rand speaks about licensing and is a featured speaker at investment conferences, trade shows, colleges, and startup events. His first book, Hidden Wealth: The Money Making Power of Licensing was released in 2019 and is available on Amazon.com. He’s also a published writer with articles appearing in several prestigious trade magazine including The Licensing Journal, Intellectual Property Magazine, and License India. Rand also mentors at the Cal State Fullerton School of Business and Economics and is a judge for their startup business plan competitions.