Corporate Advisory and Consulting

DCG's primary focus is providing advisory and consulting services to its corporate and other clients in a variety of industries including communications, energy, technology, real estate, financial services, manufacturing,  and other industries.  The focus of DCG's services relate to promoting business growth through internal development or consolidation and merger and acquisition strategies.

Profile of Client Company

Companies that DCG advises usually have the following profile:

• Companies with a strong industry-tested CEO and excellent management teams
• A first-rate service or product that is well-received by customers in the marketplace
• A strong customer base, existing revenues and EBITDA, or clear prospects for near-term revenues and EBITDA on a sustainable basis
• A need or desire to substantially grow its business

Representative Transactions

Industry Consolidations

AppNet Systems, Inc./Commerce One Global Services
AppNet Systems, Inc. (Now Commerce One Global Services Nasdaq: CMRC) is an excellent example of the ideal consolidation strategy. AppNet was organized by Ken Bajaj and an excellent management team, which had previously built a very successful technology business that was acquired by Wang.

The AppNet team had been searching for almost a year to find the right corporate advisor to carry out its plan--to become one of the world's premier fully-integrated Internet e-commerce companies for business-to-business transactions. DCG consulted with senior management of AppNet to develop its acquisition strategy.

DCG's advice was a key component which helped enable AppNet to embark on a nationwide acquisition program to acquire twelve various component companies that constituted a front-end to back-end e-business services group, providing e-business professional services solutions, such as strategy, consulting, interactive media services and branding, Intranet- based application development, transaction processing, payment and inventory control, and related functions.

This strategy enabled AppNet to complete an initial public offering, attain a two billion dollar market valuation, and become one of the world's leading companies in its space.  AppNet was eventually acquired by CommerceOne for $2.1 billion.

DCG consulted with Ken Bajaj, the former CEO of AppNet, to acquire Digital Net, which went public in 2003 with a $400 million market capitalization and was sold in 2004 to BAE Systems for $600 million in cash.

These transactions marked Ken Bajaj as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country over the last five or six years.  We are proud to have assisted Ken Bajaj in establishing this record.

InTANK
InTANK had developed a technology that promised to become central to the major energy producers' storage and distribution systems, and the Company needed to increase its sales and marketing and production capabilities. DCG introduced InTANK to an excellent mix of strategic and other sources that provided strategic value to InTANK.  Mitsubishi was brought in to provide a distribution channel internationally. DCG also introduced the Company to MidStream Partners and its founder Lou Noto, the former Chairman of ExxonMobil, who similarly provided key introductions to the major producers.

USAF II - United States Arbitrage Finance

USAF II acquires government guaranteed loans, strips the interest coupon and sells the principal resulting in an annuity income stream. DCG was engaged to help create the company’s business plan.  

Orblynx, Inc.
Founder Ashok Thareja and his team at Orblynx had developed cutting-edge technology, in concert with Intelsat, for multicasting information via satellite and caching Internet content, with push and pull technology to allow content providers to reach selected bandwidth-starved international markets and international ISPs to save significantly on international backhaul costs.  DCG collaborated with Orblynx on the development of its strategic plan and the introduction to a variety of facilitating partners.

Corporate Joint Ventures

Shell Technology Investments Partnership
DCG introduced various prospective partners to Shell International Exploration and Production, B.V., one of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of companies. Beacon and Shell created Shell Technology Investment Partnership C.V., a new venture based in Rijswijk, The Netherlands, investing in Shell-developed technology for the energy industry. The partnership combined Shell's leading technology development skills and deployment capabilities together with Beacon's long and successful history in developing emerging companies, with particular expertise in the energy sector.

The first commercial venture to develop from this partnership was Twister B.V., which marketed innovative gas processing technologies based on Shell's supersonic gas separation technology to global exploration and production companies. The Company's initial product, the supersonic separator, was able to separate hydrocarbon liquids and water from natural gas. It allowed gas to be processed more efficiently, reducing field costs by 40%.  The process also yielded significant environmental benefits, including reducing the environmental footprint significantly and emissions to zero.

InPhonic, Inc.
On a very selective basis, DCG professionals will advise a start-up company on the full range of issues from business strategy development, management team and board recruitment, and operational issues.

An example of DCG's advisory role to a start-up involved Washington, DC-based InPhonic. DCG was instrumental in creating the concept and strategy for what has become InPhonic. The Company is led by David Steinberg, one of the most innovative and dynamic entrepreneurs in the country.  The Company went public with an $800 million market cap, and was the #1 growth company on the 2004 Inc. 500 Index.  David Steinberg has become one of the country's most successful and well-known businessmen.  DCG is proud to have been part of the cause of that success.

InPhonic, Inc. provides end-to-end wireless enterprise and e-business solutions to major corporations, affinity groups and Internet-based companies. As a wireless infrastructure provider, InPhonic enables its clients to deliver wireless content, access corporate data and control device management to their end-users through a combination of wireless and Internet based products and services. InPhonic maximizes its nationwide wireless voice and data footprint, state-of-the-art fulfillment center, and proprietary wireless software platforms to create customized and scalable wireless solutions for its clients. InPhonic's wireless partnerships include AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Voicestream, Nextel, Verizon Wireless, and Motient.

Allure Fusion Media
AFM, based in Atlanta, GA, created software that manages and digitally animates static marketing and advertising into direct to consumer messaging that is displayed at the point of decision. The licensed solution provided marketers the ability to edit, schedule and deliver text, pricing and animation content to any of its locations along the network from a graphical user Web interface. The Company added some of the largest accounts in its industry.

Audiopoint, Inc.
DCG advised founder Nick Unger and Audiopoint, a voice applications network provider which created speech-enabled services for business. Audiopoint had launched the first nationwide voice portal, but had watched competitors like TellMe succeed with competing strategies.

DCG helped Audiopoint reposition its strategy, and introduced the Company to a number of potential corporate strategic partners, including Reuters, Inc. Reuters was an ideal fit, as they were able to provide strategic value as as a content and distribution  partner.  Reuters also had deep experience and contacts in new media, as one of the early investors in Yahoo and other new media properties.

Brivo Systems
DCG advised Brivo Systems in a transaction with strategic partner Chamberlain. Brivo was also facing a very difficult venture market, and a number of well-funded competitors. Chamberlain provided operational and technical support in the remote access market where it has global relationships and dominant market share.

Representative Markets

DCG has been involved with providing advisory and consulting services to companies in the following market segments, among others:

• Telecommunications
  • Broadband Technologies and Services, Satellite Communications
  • Network Infrastructure (Wireless and Terrestrial)
  • Optical Networks
  • Voice Recognition
  • Unified Messaging Technologies
• E-business Solutions
  • E-commerce Infrastructure Providers
  • E-business IT Solutions Providers
  • Application Service Providers
• Energy
  • Technologies Related to Crude Oil Recovery and Distribution
  • Superconductor and Semiconductor Technologies applicable to Power Systems
  • Oil and Gas Services Companies, including Drilling Companies
  • Inspection and Remediation Technologies
• Health Care
  • Pharmaceutical Products, Drug Discovery Technologies
  • Health Care Properties
  • Communications, Billing Services, Information Technologies
• Entertainment and Sports
  • Digital Effects Companies
  • Sports Related Parks
  • Sports Teams and Marketing
• Financial Services
  • Online Financial Advice and Consultation
  • Bank Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Insurance
• Real Estate
  • Serviced Offices Industry
  • Healthcare Industry, Outpatient Facilities
  • Sale of a Major Shipyard
  • Consulting on Sale of Shipping Company