The former owners of Edmonton-based MONTAGE eIntegration Inc. have thrown down the gauntlet to any Canadian company basking in the profits of a recent merger or acquisition with a simple challenge – share the wealth.
Grant and Elizabeth Lakeman, founders of e-business company MONTAGE – which merged with AT&T Canada in a $90-million deal earlier this spring – tapped the companies which shared the benefits of the merger to raise $110,000 for two Edmonton-area community groups.
Now the Lakemans would like other businesses to consider following the same path.
“When there’s that kind of money floating around at deal time, the spirits are pretty high, generally,” says Grant Lakeman.“And the responsiveness to something like this was fantastic. Out of all the people I called, I think I was declined by one. And they all delivered.”
Contributors included members of the MONTAGE management team, AT&T Canada, B&G, CIBC World markets, GPC International, Miller Thomson and PriceWaterhouse Coopers.
The funds have been allocated between the Edmonton Chapter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada and Junior Achievement of Northern Alberta, with the commitment to establish a $5-million endowment fund for the national organization.
“We are extremely pleased with such a commitment,” said Dru Edmiston, executive director, Edmonton Chapter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada. “MONTAGE has been involved with our organization over the years, and the fact that we would be considered at such a time and benefit from such a transaction is overwhelming.”
Lakeman is now challenging corporate Canada – those engaged in mergers, acquisitions of IPOs – to meet or exceed the contribution and donate it to a charitable foundation.
Lakeman agreed that many Canadian companies, particularly in booming Alberta, already donate generously to many causes. “But all you have to do is ask, and see what happens,” he says.
“We have to find more and more ways for corporations to contribute to education. “The kids in our country and our society don’t really know what we do for a living. They don’t know what the excitement of work is.”
The Edmonton Boys and Girls Club and Junior Achievement are well-suited to the family-centred image of the new MONTAGE.DMC e-business division of AT&T, adds Lakeman, as both clubs help kids look beyond their present circumstances to envision a positive future.
MONTAGE.DMC offers consulting services to develop and implement e-business strategies and help customers make the best use of emerging technologies and build on their existing systems.
