From day one, Steve Brazier dreamt big. In 1998, he founded Canalys, a technology analyst and market research firm and started an entrepreneurial journey with global ambitions. “If you start a business, why wouldn’t you go after the global market?” He says. “We were very clear that we wanted Canalys to operate internationally, rather than just in the UK.”
But for most founders, it’s not ambition holding them back. International expansion requires a vast investment in time, capital and resources to establish infrastructure, hire local teams and create a presence in a new market. Companies also have to navigate trade tariffs and an uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical environment before they can begin to dream of overseas success.
Brazier overcame these hurdles to shape Canalys into a global entity with offices in the UK, Singapore, India, China, the US and Colombia before selling the organisation to InformaTech in 2023. Today, he runs another global business, Canapii, alongside Co-Founder and CEO Rita Chaher, which provides event management tools and solutions to manage virtual and hybrid events.
Identifying new markets
Back in the late-90s, the international growth of Canalys was sparked by demand and competition. The firm was initially UK-based and served large technology companies who became increasingly global in their reach. At the same time, their competitors also began to expand overseas, prompting Canalys to follow suit so they could deliver regional insights.
Canalys needed to establish a strategic international hub to serve their client base. Singapore was identified as the perfect location due to its proximity to key markets in the US and China. Brazier’s next step was to hire talent. But building an international workforce was complex. They had to navigate different regulatory requirements and employment laws, whilst also developing relationships with new customers in different markets.
Early on, Brazier decided to find the best local leadership talent rather than moving the firm’s existing UK-based personnel overseas. This responsibility was given to Rita Chaher, who was originally the company’s COO and is now both CEO & Co-Founder of Canapii.
“The most important step we ever took with Canalys and with Canapii was to realise that successful international expansion hinged almost exclusively on having the right people in the right places, with a deep knowledge and understanding of their local market,” she says. “This wouldn’t have worked if our teams had operated exclusively from the UK.”
And they didn’t just look for people from top universities. “It was important that we hired people who could bring a broad range of experience and perspectives to the firm,” says Chaher.” The pair also strived to maintain a 50-50 gender split in each new region and made their HR policies, bonus and stock schemes as legally identical as possible.
“We deliberately spread our expertise globally, so no one place was the central power,” adds Brazier. “We wanted to have our knowledge spread around the world 24 hours a day.”
Expansion efforts
But while this distribution of power created a competitive advantage, it did create internal challenges in deciding salaries for the same positions in different countries. “It was complex, as you can imagine,” says Brazier. “In the US, the cost of living is greater than in other countries we were operating in and we also had to be aligned with what our competitors were paying in the relevant markets.”
Expansion also required huge physical and mental effort from those involved. “We would often have company calls at 3 or 4am UK time,” says Chaher. “We had to rotate who got up in the middle of the night to be on that call.” International travel was another non-negotiable commitment. “If you’re setting up a business in a new location, you’ve got to be there, they’ve got to see you. Expansion was a combination of fascination, excitement and disruption.”
In the end, their efforts paid off. Canalys was sold to InformaTech in 2023. The firm worked with EY-Parthenon to agree the terms of the sale. “They were absolutely essential,” says Brazier. “We didn’t know what a due diligence process looked like or what questions we would be asked. EY’s input was exceptional. They anticipated the questions we would be asked and many of the things that would happen. We simply couldn’t have done it without them.”
EY Insights: Canalys’s sale to Informatech
EY played a key role in the company’s sale process, helping Canalys’ business owners to navigate the complexities of the transaction and maximise the returns for shareholders. Rob Morris, technology mergers and acquisitions partner at EY-Parthenon, outlines how it happened.
The global reach and influence of the Canalys brand supported by its influential community and blue-chip client base complemented Informa Tech’s research and events offerings. Both companies saw the transaction as an opportunity to create a market leading business in technology channel research.
EY was engaged by Canalys as their retained advisor to ensure that the business was exit-ready and positioned for a premium outcome at the opportune moment. EY ran a highly focused process to help identify the partner who would be the best fit for the business.
Employees & complexity
The EY transaction planning included a pre-sale reorganisation that separated part of the business, to ensure that the Group was both was deal-ready and optimised for tax efficiency, resulting in a higher net return for shareholders. Canalys and Canapii shared employees and had several cross charges between the two companies, plus intercompany loans. EY drew on its extensive experience to finalise the transaction within seven weeks of receiving the first round bid, which included resolving these carve-out complexities ahead of completion.
Revenue mix
EY positioned the events portion of the business as strategic assets to strengthen customer relationships and showcase ecosystem leadership, reinforcing brand value. This positioning helped to reinforce the level of predictable, recurring revenue streams, enhancing the perceived quality of earnings.
International locations
Canalys’ company headquarters were in Singapore, with subsidiaries in the UK, China and India. EY advised on the legal and tax implications of this structure for the transaction, alongside its broader M&A advisory services.
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From day one, Steve Brazier dreamt big. In 1998, he founded Canalys, a technology analyst and market research firm and started an entrepreneurial journey with global ambitions. “If you start a business, why wouldn’t you go after the global market?” He says. “We were very clear that we wanted Canalys to operate internationally, rather than just in the UK.”
But for most founders, it’s not ambition holding them back. International expansion requires a vast investment in time, capital and resources to establish infrastructure, hire local teams and create a presence in a new market. Companies also have to navigate trade tariffs and an uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical environment before they can begin to dream of overseas success.
Brazier overcame these hurdles to shape Canalys into a global entity with offices in the UK, Singapore, India, China, the US and Colombia before selling the organisation to InformaTech in 2023. Today, he runs another global business, Canapii, alongside Co-Founder and CEO Rita Chaher, which provides event management tools and solutions to manage virtual and hybrid events.
