INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DUE DILIGENCE IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: A MORE SUBSTANTIVE APPROACH NEEDED* Martin B. Robins† I. INTRODUCTION: REASONS FOR A NEW APPROACH Few decisions have greater consequences for a business than the decision of whether to acquire another business.1 In today’s world, one of the key determinants of a business’s value is the value of its intellectual property (“IP”) and information technology (“IT”).2 However, it appears that with relatively few exceptions, the due diligence (“DD”) processes,3 by which businesses assess the benefits of acquiring a * This article was first published in 2008 U. ILL. J.L. TECH. & POL’Y 321 (2008). † Mr. Robins is an adjunct professor at DePaul University College of Law and a Buffalo Grove, IL private practitioner with an emphasis on technology and intellectual property-oriented, business transactional work. He holds a B.S. in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (summa cum laude) and a J.D. from Harvard Law School (cum laude). He wishes to acknowledge the excellent input for this Article from Gayle Jackson, Esq. Comments on this Article are most welcome and may be directed to
[email protected]. 1. Lee Gomes, H-P’s IBM Envy Drives Deal, WALL ST. J., May 14, 2008, at B8 (“Few things a company can do are taken more seriously than a big acquisition. Because that often means betting the farm . .”); see, e.g., ROBERT F. BRUNER, DEALS FROM HELL: M&A LESSONS THAT RISE ABOVE THE ASHES 95–340 (2005) (describing in detail the potentially dire consequences of acquisitions gone awry, including large losses and, sometimes, liquidation for companies, such as Penn Central, Revco Drugstores, Quaker Oats, Snapple, Mattel, The Learning Company, and others, as well as the positive consequences from a deal done well); David Enrich, CEOs Grapple with Subprime Beast: Pandit of Citigroup Plots a Turnaround but Not a Breakup, WALL ST.