Noor Al-Banna, CFA, CLP, CVA

Noor Al-Banna is a Senior Director in the Management Consulting and Valuation practice of Ocean Tomo, a part of J.S. Held.  Ocean Tomo is an Intellectual Capital Merchant Banc™ firm, providing industry leading financial products and services related to intellectual property including valuation, investment due diligence, strategy consulting, patent analytics, transaction brokerage, and financial expert testimony.

Noor’s experience includes valuation, strategy, and transaction advisory assistance to companies, investors, and governments in a variety of industries including life sciences, energy and climate tech, sustainable materials and production, software, and retail, among others.  Noor’s analyses have been used to support investment decisions, capital raises, IP monetization, M&A, bankruptcy & restructuring, IP licensing, JV formation, litigation, and tax matters.

Noor’s valuation experience includes significant experience with the valuation of intangible assets including patented and unpatented technology, brands, software, data, and other intellectual property assets.  Further, Noor is actively involved in the firm’s sustainability efforts, and has focused his work on understanding the intersection of IP and sustainability, and integrating ESG factor analysis into valuations.

Prior to joining Ocean Tomo, Mr. Al-Banna worked at BMO Capital Markets in their Fixed Income Operations group.  There, he worked on the implementation of a new MMI trade settlement system, as well as the daily settlement of corporate bond, MMI, repo, and fed fund transactions.  Prior to that, he worked at DePaul University’s endowment fund where he performed due diligence and valuation analysis on potential investments.  He also worked on DePaul University’s portfolio management team, monitoring portfolio risk and performance and evaluating investment pitches.

Mr. Al-Banna holds a M.S. in Accountancy and B.S. in Finance from DePaul University.  Mr. Al-Banna is also a CFA Charterholder (CFA), CFA Certified in ESG Investing, a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP), and a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA).

Noor is a member of the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI), Intellectual Property Owners (IPO), the Illinois Technology Association (ITA), and the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA).

Representative Engagements

Oklo Fairness Opinion & IPO

Mr. Al-Banna was engaged to act as the financial advisor to the board of directors of Churchill Capital in connection with the IPO of Oklo, an advanced nuclear reactor and fuel company.  Mr. Al-Banna’s work involved detailed assessments of Oklo’s nuclear technology, IP, licenses, and regulatory approvals, culminating in a fairness opinion to the investor’s board and a successful IPO.

Biotech Startup Valuation & Capital Raise

Mr. Al-Banna assisted a biotechnology startup with the valuation of twelve clinical stage assets as well as its AI drug discovery platform and biomarker database.  The Company’s IP covered therapeutics and diagnostics for cancer, rare diseases, and other indications.  Mr. Al-Banna’s valuation was used by the Company during multiple rounds of capital raising where the IP was being used as collateral.

Global Tax Litigations

Mr. Al-Banna was involved in a ten-figure litigation surrounding the IP licensing practices of an international social media company.  Mr. Al-Banna’s work on behalf of the IRS in this matter involved a deep analysis of the company’s IP assets and licensing practices.  Mr. Al-Banna has similarly been retained to conduct this type of analysis for operating companies involved in similar tax-related disputes and investigations. Outside the United States, Mr. Al-Banna has also worked on behalf of the Australian Commission of Taxation in a landmark tax litigation involving the analysis and value of a multinational beverage brand and inter-company licensing arrangements.

Global Consumer Electronics Giant IP License Negotiation Support

Mr. Al-Banna assisted a global consumer electronics giant in its patent licensing negotiations with a large internet technology company.  The patent portfolio in question was the largest and most comprehensive of its kind related to cloud, gaming, and streaming technology.  The engagement involved a determination of a reasonable royalty for the license and ongoing negotiation support.

J. Crew Bankruptcy

Mr. Al-Banna worked with the iconic American apparel retailer, assisting in the valuation of its brand assets as a part of the company’s bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings.  The engagement involved valuations of the retailer’s brands under both Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 scenarios and was instrumental in allowing the retailer to secure debtor-in-possession financing and exit bankruptcy.