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Valsoft Enters the Association Management Portfolio with the Acquisitions of Unionware and Membertrak

Valsoft Enters the Association Management Portfolio with the Acquisitions of Unionware and Membertrak

MONTREAL, QC / ACCESS Newswire / April 29, 2025 / Valsoft Corporation Inc. ('Valsoft'), a Canadian company specializing in the acquisition and development of vertical market software businesses, today announced the acquisition of UnionWare and MemberTrak, two North American leaders in the union software industry.
'UnionWare and MemberTrak have established themselves as trusted names in the union software space, each with strong client loyalty and deep domain expertise,' said Costa Tagalakis, Investment Partner at Valsoft. 'We're excited to support their continued growth by enhancing resources and maintaining what has already made them successful.'
This dual acquisition brings decades of specialized industry expertise to solidify Valsoft's presence in the association management software space. Both UnionWare and MemberTrak provide mission-critical software tailored to the unique needs of unions. UnionWare provides fully integrated labor management solutions, and MemberTrak offers easy-to-use, reliable software for trade union membership record-keeping, communication, dues tracking, and reporting.
Matt Vice, Managing Director of UnionWare and MemberTrak, shared:"Joining Valsoft is a great step for UnionWare and MemberTrak. [The people at Valsoft] understand what makes our business special and are committed to supporting our clients with continuity and care, while also opening the door to innovation and operational support.'
As with all Valsoft acquisitions, both UnionWare and MemberTrak will continue to operate independently, retaining their current teams and commitment to delivering exceptional service. Valsoft is committed to enabling each company to focus on its core mission, while leveraging shared expertise and best practices from across the Valsoft network to support the future of union management technology.
About UnionWare
Founded in 1993, UnionWare provides fully integrated union-management software designed specifically for labor unions. Its flagship solution covers every aspect of union operations-from member and dues management to grievances and organizing-helping unions better serve their members through automation and insight. Learn more at www.unionware.com.
About MemberTrak
Since 1996, MemberTrak has been dedicated to providing union offices with easy-to-use, reliable software for membership record-keeping, communication, dues tracking, and reporting. With a focus on user-friendly design and responsive support, MemberTrak has helped streamline operations for trade unions across North America. Learn more at www.membertraksoftware.com
About Valsoft
Valsoft acquires and develops vertical market software companies that deliver mission-critical solutions. A key tenet of Valsoft's philosophy is to invest in established businesses and foster an entrepreneurial environment that shapes a company into a leader in its respective industry. Unlike private equity and VC firms, Valsoft does not have a predefined investment horizon and looks to buy, hold, and create value through long-term partnerships with existing management and customers. Learn more at www.valsoftcorp.com.
Valsoft was represented internally by David Felicissimo (General Counsel), Ssin Choi (Senior Counsel), and Pamela Romero (Paralegal). Togetherwork, seller of UnionWare & MemberTrak, was represented by Gibson Dunn.
Media contact information
Thierry Tardif
Communications and Public Relations
Valsoft Corporation
[email protected]
514-799-6679
SOURCE: Valsoft Corp
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Power struggle
Power struggle

Politico

time7 minutes ago

  • Politico

Power struggle

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Is PepsiCo A Better Stock Than Coca-Cola?
Is PepsiCo A Better Stock Than Coca-Cola?

Forbes

time27 minutes ago

  • Forbes

Is PepsiCo A Better Stock Than Coca-Cola?

EDMONTON, CANADA - FEBRUARY 15: A Coca-Cola advertisement board with the slogan 'Enjoy! Coca-Cola' ... More stands outside a restaurant in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on February 15, 2025. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images) PepsiCo's stock (NASDAQ:PEP) has significantly lagged this year, recording a 10% decrease, while its competitor, Coca-Cola stock (NYSE:KO), has experienced a 16% rise. This contrast is mainly attributed to the sluggish North American operations for PepsiCo. The company has encountered a decline in consumer interest for its Frito-Lay snack sector and has dealt with a substantial recall in its Quaker Foods North America branch (oatmeal). These challenges have adversely affected organic sales, prompting PepsiCo to lower its full-year forecast. They now expect core constant-currency EPS to remain flat year-over-year, a notable drop from the earlier anticipated mid-single-digit increase, and foresee only low single-digit growth in organic revenue. This cautious outlook has understandably shaken investor confidence. In spite of these recent difficulties, our analysis indicates that PepsiCo offers a more attractive investment opportunity than Coca-Cola over the coming years. This belief is rooted in a thorough assessment of historical revenue trends, investment returns, and comparative valuation metrics. The subsequent sections will elaborate on the rationale behind this viewpoint. That said, if you're seeking a potential upside with a more stable experience than an individual stock, consider the High Quality portfolio, which has outperformed the S&P, delivering >91% returns since its launch. Separately, see – SOFI Stock To $30? How Are Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's Sales Trending? Coca-Cola has achieved a 7% average annual revenue growth from 2021 to 2024, rising from $38.7 billion to $47.1 billion. This slightly exceeds PepsiCo's 5% average annual growth, which saw its revenue increase from $79.5 billion to $91.9 billion during the same timeframe. Coca-Cola's revenue growth is driven by strong performance in both its at-home and away-from-home channels. This growth is largely fueled by effective pricing strategies that have enabled the company to handle inflationary pressures. Regionally, North America and Latin America have been the main contributors to this growth, reflecting a strong demand for Coca-Cola's diverse beverage range. PepsiCo's revenue growth from 2021 to 2024 was propelled by strategic pricing moves and robust performance in its beverage and snack sectors, although growth encountered significant challenges due to operational difficulties. The company benefitted from heightened interest in zero-sugar varieties of Pepsi, and it retained market share advancements in Gatorade. However, PepsiCo's growth path was heavily impacted by the Quaker Oats recall issue, which commenced in late 2023 due to salmonella contamination. The recall was triggered by salmonella that persisted at a PepsiCo facility for up to four years, ultimately resulting in the permanent closure of the Illinois Quaker Oats factory. Despite these obstacles, PepsiCo achieved annual revenue growth, showcasing the strength of its core beverage and Frito-Lay divisions in counterbalancing the notable decline in the Quaker sector. What About Profitability? From 2021 to 2024, Coca-Cola experienced a slight decline in its net margin, decreasing from 25.3% to 22.6%. This is associated with rising mixed costs, product mix, and increased marketing expenses. See – Coca-Cola's Net Margin Comparison – for further details. On the other hand, PepsiCo's net margin increased from 9.6% to 10.4%. While the increase was modest, PepsiCo benefitted from productivity initiatives and effective pricing for its products. Financial Risk Analysis In assessing financial risk, Coca-Cola performs slightly better than PepsiCo. Coca-Cola's debt-to-equity ratio of 16% is more advantageous than PepsiCo's 27%. Moreover, its cash-to-assets ratio of 14% surpasses PepsiCo's 8%. In essence, Coca-Cola showcases a stronger debt profile while maintaining a more stable cash position. KO and PEP: Comparing 4-Year Stock Returns Against the S&P 500 Since early January 2021, Coca-Cola's stock has experienced solid growth, rising approximately 40% from around $50 to its current price of about $70. In contrast, PepsiCo's stock has shown minimal movement, creeping up only about 4% from $130 to $135 during the same timeframe. This underperformance by both beverage giants is particularly noticeable when juxtaposed with the S&P 500, which has surged by roughly 65% since the beginning of 2021. However, a detailed examination of the annual returns paints a more intricate picture of volatility for both KO and PEP: When compared to the S&P 500's performance (27% in 2021, -19% in 2022, 24% in 2023, and 23% in 2024), it's evident that both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo underperformed relative to the broader market in 2021, 2023, and 2024. While KO has shown more consistent positive returns throughout the entire period, PEP's recent challenges have affected its overall long-term performance. PEP Stock: The Superior Beverage Investment Choice? We contend that PepsiCo (PEP) currently provides a more appealing investment opportunity than Coca-Cola (KO), largely due to its advantageous valuation. PEP stock trades at merely 17 times its trailing adjusted earnings of $8.03 per share. This is significantly lower than its four-year average price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22 times, indicating it is undervalued relative to its historical performance. Conversely, KO stock is trading at 25 times its trailing adjusted earnings of $2.89 per share. This valuation is above its own four-year average P/E of 22 times. Although PepsiCo has faced recent challenges, particularly due to the Quaker issue affecting North American sales, we expect a recovery in this area in the upcoming quarters. Although PepsiCo's revenues are anticipated to remain flat this year, we predict they will return to mid-single-digit growth starting next year. This expected rebound, alongside its current discounted valuation, positions PepsiCo favorably compared to the two beverage giants. For investors aiming to reduce the inherent volatility linked to individual stocks like KO and PEP, alternate investment strategies are accessible. The Trefis RV strategy, celebrated for its track record of outperforming its all-cap stock benchmark, provides a diversified route to potentially secure robust returns. Likewise, the High Quality portfolio has shown superior performance compared to the S&P 500, yielding returns in excess of 91% since its inception, thus providing potential upside with reduced stock-specific risk.

New supply management law won't save the system from Trump, experts say
New supply management law won't save the system from Trump, experts say

Hamilton Spectator

time2 hours ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

New supply management law won't save the system from Trump, experts say

OTTAWA - A new law meant to protect supply management might not be enough to shield the system in trade talks with a Trump administration bent on eliminating it, trade experts say. 'It's certainly more difficult to strike a deal with the United States now with the passage of this bill that basically forces Canada to negotiate with one hand tied behind its back,' said William Pellerin, a trade lawyer and partner at the firm McMillan LLP. 'Now that we've removed the digital service tax, dairy and supply management is probably the number 1 trade irritant that we have with the United States. That remains very much unresolved.' When Trump briefly paused trade talks with Canada on June 27 over the digital services tax — shortly before Ottawa capitulated by dropping the tax — he zeroed in on Canada's system of supply management. In a social media post, Trump called Canada a 'very difficult country to TRADE with, including the fact that they have charged our Farmers as much as 400% Tariffs, for years, on Dairy Products.' Canada can charge about 250 per cent tariffs on U.S. dairy imports over a set quota established by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. The International Dairy Foods Association, which represents the U.S. dairy industry, said in March the U.S. has never come close to reaching those quotas, though the association also said that's because of other barriers Canada has erected. When Bill C-202 passed through Parliament last month, Bloc Québécois MPs hailed it as a clear win protecting Quebec farmers from American trade demands. The Bloc's bill, which received royal assent on June 26, prevents the foreign affairs minister from making commitments in trade negotiations to either increase the tariff rate quota or reduce tariffs for imports over a set threshold. On its face, that rule would prevent Canadian trade negotiators from offering to drop the import barriers that shield dairy and egg producers in Canada from price shocks. But while the law appears to rule out using supply management as a bargaining chip in trade talks with the U.S., it doesn't completely constrain the government. Pellerin said that if Prime Minister Mark Carney is seeking a way around C-202, he might start by looking into conducting the trade talks personally, instead of leaving them to Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand. Carney dismissed the need for the new law during the recent election but vowed to keep supply management off the table in negotiations with the U.S. Pellerin said the government could also address the trade irritant by expanding the number of players who can access dairy quotas beyond 'processors.' '(C-202) doesn't expressly talk about changing or modifying who would be able to access the quota,' he said. Expanding access to quota, he said, would likely 'lead to companies like grocery stores being able to import U.S. cheeses, and that would probably please the United States to a significant degree.' Carleton University associate professor Philippe Lagassé, an expert on Parliament and the Crown, said the new law doesn't extend past something called the 'royal prerogative' — the ability of the executive branch of government to carry out certain actions in, for example, the conduct of foreign affairs. That suggests the government isn't constrained by the law, he said. 'I have doubts that the royal prerogative has been displaced by the law. There is no specific language binding the Crown and it would appear to run contrary to the wider intent of the (law that it modifies),' he said by email. 'That said, if the government believes that the law is binding, then it effectively is. As defenders of the bill insisted, it gives the government leverage in negotiation by giving the impression that Parliament has bound it on this issue.' He said a trade treaty requires enabling legislation, so a new bill could remove the supply management constraints. 'The bill adds an extra step and some constraints, but doesn't prevent supply management from eventually being removed or weakened,' he said. Trade lawyer Mark Warner, principal at MAAW Law, said Canada could simply dispense with the law through Parliament if it decides it needs to make concessions to, for example, preserve the auto industry. 'The argument for me that the government of Canada sits down with another country, particularly the United States, and says we can't negotiate that because Parliament has passed a bill — I have to tell you, I've never met an American trade official or lawyer who would take that seriously,' Warner said. 'My sense of this is it would just go through Parliament, unless you think other opposition parties would bring down the government over it.' While supply management has long been a target for U.S. trade negotiators, the idea of killing it has been a non-starter in Canadian politics for at least as long. Warner said any attempt to do away with it would be swiftly met with litigation, Charter challenges and provinces stepping up to fill a federal void. 'The real cost of that sort of thing is political, so if you try to take it away, people are screaming and they're blocking the highways and they are calling you names and the Bloc is blocking anything through Parliament — you pay a cost that way,' he said. But a compromise on supply management might not be that far-fetched. 'The system itself won't be dismantled. I don't think that's anywhere near happening in the coming years and even decades,' said Pellerin. 'But I think that there are changes that could be made, particularly through the trade agreements, including by way of kind of further quotas. Further reduction in the tariffs for outside quota amounts and also in terms of who can actually bring in product.' The United States trade representative raised specific concerns about supply management in the spring, citing quota rules established under the CUSMA trade pact that are not being applied as the U.S. expected and ongoing frustration with the pricing of certain types of milk products. Former Canadian diplomat Louise Blais said that if Canada were to 'respect the spirit' of CUSMA as the Americans understand it, the problem might actually solve itself. 'We jump to the conclusion that it's dismantlement or nothing else, but in fact there's a middle ground,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2025.

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