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Proposed changes to Cleveland’s zoning code could be more efficient, plus add to creativity — P. 4 Browns are attempting to get it ‘right,’ but assistant coaches’ departures bring more turnover — P. 5
Automatic reach More small and midsized local companies are using marketing automation as a valuable tool By CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com
NICK SHEPHERD
The marketing robots located Pete Robison about a year ago. They knew about the article he read online. They saw him download that white paper — and convinced him to type in his email address in the process. Then they started sending him subtle emails designed to lead him back to HubSpot.com. And Robison kept going back to the software company’s website to learn more about this marketing automation topic he’d been reading about. The robots spotted him each time. Eventually, they sensed that he was a hot lead and alerted a human in the sales department, who gave Robison a call. He was amazed. Sure, it was “a little Big Brother-ish,” but he didn’t mind. He was more interested in figuring out how his employer — Meyer Products, a Cleveland company best known for making yellow snow plows — could use some of the same techniques. Today, Meyer is one of many Northeast Ohio companies that are using marketing automation software to home in on people See AUTOMATIC, page 7
Survey echoes M&A pros’ optimistic view By JEREMY NOBILE jnobile@crain.com
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2014 was a strong year for mergers and acquisitions. 2015 figures to be even better, experts say, and the best year since the economy tanked in 2007. A recent KPMG LLP report that surveyed 738 M&A professionals nationwide found that 82% anticipate their U.S. companies or clients will embark on at least one acquisition this year, up from 63% who predicted similar activity at the start of 2014. Of Greater Cleve-
geographic expansion and new market segments,” said Mark Saas, a partner with KPMG’s transactions and restructuring group. “This strategy would include investing into emerging markets to accomplish these pursuits.” Randall Myeroff, CEO of Cleveland accounting firm Cohen & Co., said optimism expressed in the survey dovetails with what he’s hearing for 2015. “When I talk amongst clients in a variety of industries, and private companies of different sizes and industries, I think all of them are con-
sidering some level of M&A activity,” Myeroff said. Last year was the most active year for M&A deals since the mid2000s, with total dollars in transactions around $3.5 trillion, according to figures tracked by Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg M&A league tables. Much of that was driven by megadeals, such as Comcast Corp.’s $70 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable. “2014 was a phenomenal year, not just for us, but for the dealmaker business, it was just phenomenal,” said James Dougherty, admin-
istrative partner for the mergers and acquisitions practice at Jones Day, the most active dealmaker on the planet for 57 consecutive quarters in terms of number of deals completed, according to Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg. The momentum seen in 2014, he predicts, will persist through 2015 across industries. Sectors including health care, biomedical, technology, manufacturing/distribution and energy — all of which saw big deals last year — could see a slightly higher level of activity. See M&A, page 47
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landers in that group, 78% anticipate at least one deal this year. Respondents generally said they expect deal valuations to go up as well. A focus of those transactions increasingly will be in the expansive middle-market segment, with more deals sought between the $250 million to $1 billion range, according to KPMG. And 73% of all respondents said they expect the United States to be the most active M&A market across the globe. “Acquirers intend to pursue additional strategies to increase revenues moving forward, including
HEALTH CARE By branching out to Elyria and Parma, University Hospitals is accelerating growth ■ Pages 41-45 PLUS: EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIP ■ NEW NEOMED ■ & MORE
Entire contents © 2015 by Crain Communications Inc. Vol. 36, No. 3