The Agile Executive

In 2004 I was asked by the London Office of Apax Partners to conduct due diligence on a start-up name of Tideway. Flying all the way from Seattle to London was not something I was looking to. However, a promise to put me in The Hotel at the Chelsea Football Club proved irresistable. I packed my bags and went to London.

Apax paid me nicely for the due diligence – no complaints whatsoever. However, I woke up today to read the following news in The Register:

Systems management software maker BMC Software continues to snap up other software players as it bulks up to do battle with the likes of IBM, CA, Hewlett-Packard, and now EMC in its chosen market. Today, the company paid an undisclosed amount to acquire British software company and BMC-partner Tideway Systems.

I wonder whether I should have asked to be given equity instead of cash….