iSPIRT announces Signal Hill as its first Investment Banking partner for its M&A Connect Program

1. CONTACT: Peter Yorke (+91-98450-19893)
PR Agency contact
iSPIRT announces Signal Hill as its first Investment Banking partner for
its M&A Connect Program
Launches the M&A Action Plan to prepare Indian software product companies for international
acquisitions
INDIA, Bangalore, October 10, 2013– The Indian Software Products Industry Roundtable
(iSPIRT), India’s first software product think-tank, today announced Signal Hill, a leading
independent advisory boutique serving the M&A and private capital raising needs of growth
companies, as its first investment banking partner for the M&A Connect Program in India.
iSPIRT’s M&A Connect Program is dedicated to facilitating and expediting the cross-border
M&A process for Indian software product companies. iSPIRT also launched its M&A Connect
Action plan 2.0 that focuses on facilitating discovery, promoting readiness and building the
M&A ecosystem.
As Indian software product companies begin to mature and build scale, it becomes critical for
them to gain access to potential business partners and buyers. According to leading research
and advisory firm Zinnov, there are more than 3,700 software product companies in India today
addressing technology requirements across both the enterprise and consumer segments.
"In Silicon Valley, companies buy firms that create new technologies that fill gaps in their
portfolio or to expand into newer areas. Such M&A could bring meaningful exits to Indian
product startups and spur investment as well as entrepreneurial activities. Since technology
buyers are predominantly based in the US, we are trying to create a bridge between them and
Indian product startups through this unique initiative," said Jay Pullur, CEO of Pramati
Technologies who is leading iSPIRT’s M&A Connect initiative.

2. Signal Hill has the unique distinction of having a strong presence in Silicon Valley and in India,
with a 70-plus investment banking team working specifically on Technology & Software M&A.
Since 2012, Signal Hill has completed more than 50 transactions with leading companies.
"Signal Hill brings deep expertise to the process of selling companies and is well-networked
with key strategic buyers in North America and Europe. We look forward to working with them
to help Indian product start-ups find successful partners,” said Sanat Rao, M&A Connect advisor
for iSPIRT.
“We're honored to have been chosen by iSPIRT as their investment banking partner,” said Ira
Cohen, Managing Director and Chairman of Signal Hill India. “iSPIRT is a visionary think-tank
with a clear focus to help Indian entrepreneurs build best-in-class software technology
companies. We are excited to work with iSPIRT to help Indian software entrepreneurs achieve
the Greater Outcomes® that we are known for.”
Details of the M&A Connect Action plan are available at: http://productnation.in/action-plan-for-increasing-ma-
opportunities-for-indian-product-startups/
About iSPIRT
iSPIRT is a think-tank focused on transforming India into a hub for new generation software
products. iSPIRT constitutes a 30 member Founders Circle comprising leadership from the
Indian software product industry. iSPIRT has three major initiatives on its canvas – M&A
Connect, The Software Adoption Initiative (SAI) and Government Policy Programs.
ProductNation, a brand of iSPIRT, is a platform to nurture and grow the Indian startup product
ecosystem. It seeks to inform, educate, and initiate dialogues among key ecosystem
participants. For more information, visit www.ispirt.in
About Signal Hill
Signal Hill is a leading independent advisory boutique serving the M&A and private capital
raising needs of growth companies. Signal Hill's experienced bankers provide deep domain
expertise and an unyielding commitment to clients in our sectors: Software, Internet & Digital
Media, Internet Infrastructure and Services. With over 600 completed transactions and offices
in Baltimore, Bangalore, Boston, Nashville, New York, Reston and San Francisco, Signal Hill
leverages deep strategic industry and financial sponsor relationships to help our clients achieve
Greater Outcomes®. For more information visit www.signalhill.com.
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