In the last two weeks, there have been a couple of high multiple exits that share something in common - both LANDesk Software and Savi Technology started life as unwanted children inside much larger companies. LANDesk, an early-stage Corporate IP Spinout of Intel in November, 2002, was acquired by Avocent on April 27 for $476M ($416M plus $60M earnout). Savi, which was spun out of Raytheon in 1999, was acquired by Lockheed Martin on May 4 for undisclosed terms (SiliconBeat's Matt Marshall reported it as a $400M exit).

I know LANDesk quite well ... I was at Intel while this software business was getting milked by a semiconductor parent that never could quite figure out how to separate LANDesk's market opportunity as a stand alone software business from its muddled role as a "Job 1" (read - sell more Pentiums!) enabler. But after fumbling with this for the better part of 10 years, Intel made what now looks like an extremely savvy move - they spun LANDesk out as a new company with Intel retaining a 15% equity stake. They get $65-70M for something they had essentially run into the ground. I also know LANDesk since my firm - Blueprint Ventures - invested in the first and only round of outside capital raised by LANDesk. I don't have any first hand knowledge of Savi, but just like LANDesk and many other non-strategic businesses trapped inside big companies it likely suffered the usual litany of benign neglect, unwanted "help" from various corporate suits, and being forced to pay a corporate overhead "tax" for which it got little benefit. The result was that both LANDesk and Savi prospered as independent companies - that is, once they were allowed to raise outside capital, create an independent governance structure, and free to pursue market/product strategies that optimized their respective businesses.

If you work at, or are a shareholder in, either Avocent or Lockheed Martin, you can hope these proud new parents can help their new children grow and prosper. If you're at any other corporation that has a few non-strategic projects or businesses or those that look promising but just don't "move the needle" (what corporation DOESN'T have these?), then you should consider a spin out as a way to monetize this stranded IP.— Jim Huston

Jim Huston is a Managing Director with Blueprint Ventures, an early stage technology venture capital firm which specializes in helping corporations monetize their IP via early stage corporate IP spinouts.