Press Release
Mark Finkel has his work cut out for him in the coming months as the new chief financial officer of Halo Technology Holdings, an enterprise software holding company based in Greenwich, Conn.
Finkel, 51, will have to manage the transactional and operational process of Halo’s growing portfolio of software companies, all nine of which the company acquired in 2005.
“The things that excite me are transactions and operations, and this is a great opportunity to do both,” Finkel said.
The veteran tech executive knows firsthand the ins and outs of financing and managing technology businesses. Finkel has taken three companies public as CFO, including Consilium Inc., Logic Works Inc. and ServiceWare Technologies Inc. He has also served as CFO of BackWeb Technologies Inc. and Neuron Data Inc.
Dealing with the financial community is a plus for Finkel, who, as chief executive, led the buyouts of RightAnswers Inc., an online software company that serves IT help desks, and ISD Corp., a provider of payment management services.
“For me, the acquisition work that I’ve done recently and operations work at other companies culminates with this position at Halo,” Finkel said.
In 2005 Halo announced its intent to acquire seven companies and has since closed on all acquisitions.
Last January, Halo acquired Gupta Technologies and in July acquired Kenosia Corp.; both companies produced high-margin revenue.
The buying frenzy continued into the last quarter of 2005 as the company completed the acquisition of Tesseract, David Corp., Process Software, Foresight Software, and ProfitKey International, all from Platinum Equity.
Together the five companies, along with Gupta and Kenosia, had an acquisition price tag of $48.8 million and are generating revenue of more than $44 million, according to Halo officials.
The speedy acquisitions continued late into the year when just last month Halo announced plans to acquire InfoNow Corp. and human resources service provider, Empagio.
“The company has shown to buy smart and at reasonable prices,” Finkel said. “I really think Halo has a great business model and enjoy the fact that executives at Halo have a strong opinion on technology markets and (I am happy) to be part of that process and to be with a group of people who see that the opportunity of a consolidating market is exciting.”
Finkel says Halo is not like the divine inc.s of the world (divine inc. had a short life span before making history as one of the most famous dot-com flameouts) that went on a buying frenzy only to fail miserably.
“Companies were doing things with cheap cost of capital and at a time where the rules of the game were being thrown out and that was an unfortunate time for a lot of people.”
The right ingredients to be a successful holding company, according to Finkel, is buying at the right price, running for the long term, and creating profits today. Also important, he says, is looking at the right metrics like cash flow and profit.
“It’s early in my tenure, but a good combination of discipline and opportunism is always healthy,” he added. “I’ve seen five downturns and five upturns and try not to live off champagne in the good times and jump off ledges in bad times.”
Finkel’s sense of balance does not end at financial sheets. He is also an avid runner who says he works to balance his hobbies of running and reading, along with raising six children that span in age from 8 to 25.
HALO Technology Holdings, Inc. is a global provider of a diversified range of standards-based enterprise software applications and on-demand solutions. HALO's strategy is to acquire and operate enterprise software companies with a commitment to sustainable growth. HALO portfolio companies focus on customer service, product quality and profitability to build long term customer relationships and ensure customer satisfaction today and into the future. Everyday, thousands of corporations and institutions from across the globe rely on our portfolio companies to deliver high quality, enterprise class software and services. For more information, please see our website at www.haloholdings.com.
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include those relating to future opportunities, the outlook of customers, the reception of new products and technologies, and the success of new initiatives. In particular, statements contained in this press release that concern future operating results or other statements using words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “should” “will,” or “set our sights on” constitute forward-looking statements and are made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.In addition, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include: (i) demand for the Company's products; (ii) the actions of current and potential new competitors; (iii) changes in technology; (iv) the nature and amount of the Company's revenues and expenses; and (v) overall economic conditions and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic earnings releases and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission"), as well as the risks and uncertainties discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB filed with the Commission on September 28, 2005 (the "Form 10-KSB") and the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-QSB filed with the Commission on November 14, 2005 and on February 15, 2006.