Evaluation of prospective acqisition target; Altisource portfolio solutions

Abstract

The summer internship programme at Altisource started off by understanding the business of the organization at large and the way the different business divisions are structured. This was followed by an orientation of the Corporate Strategy team and understanding the role played by the team at Altisource. After the initial orientation period the systems and processes in the team had to be understood before any activity could be initiated. As part of this, I also got an opportunity to contribute to the team in preparing the quarterly reports which tracked the performance of the different business segments in Altisource. The project work at Altisource consisted of creating a generic strategic framework to evaluate acquisition prospects. Using this framework a prospective acquisition target company was evaluated to get an understanding of the different aspects that could become areas of contention in case the acquisition was proceeded with. After this exercise, a financial model was also created to forecast the financials and cash flows of the 'post-acquisition' entity, so as to get an estimate of the value for the target and subsequently, the price that could be bid in case the acquisition had to be made. Overall, the 8 weeks spent at Altisource was a great learning experience. I got a good understanding of the mortgage industry in the United States and how it has evolved to its present structure. I also learnt how Altisource as an organization fits into this complex industry and the kind of challenges that it will face in future.