M&A Blog and News
June 22, 2017
An Effective Acquisition Process Requires Both
By Kalle Kilpi, Founder, Products & BD for Midaxo, an M&A Leadership Council Partner
M&A capability is built around people, processes and tools. Good people are, of course, the most important thing to have, but a good process and good tools can significantly increase the success rate. A good M&A process helps people focus on the right things and follow best practices. Good M&A tools help run the process with discipline, transparency and good collaboration. Having every deal go through a standard set of considerations reduces deal risks and helps the organization learn from mistakes.
June 22, 2017
The Benefits of Planning for and Engaging in M&A Discussions
By Mike Lord, Senior Consultant for Willis Towers Watson, an M&A Leadership Council Partner
You’ve spent years building your relationship with your scheme sponsor, developing a collaborative and integrated approach to funding and investment – then bang, out of the blue, a third party makes a bid for the sponsor and suddenly all bets are off.
June 21, 2017
The Mechanism Creates a "Win-Win" Situation
By Greg Stowe, Director of Valuation & Business Analytics for BDO, a partner of the M&A Leadership Council
Transaction stakeholders continually are seeking innovative ways to translate deal value into a ‘win-win’ situation for both the buyer and the seller. Among the mechanisms considered in structuring a deal has been the use of an earn-out in establishing deal value.
June 15, 2017
Compatible Management Teams Are Critical
By Mergermarket, a Partner of M&A Leadership Council
A new report from Kilberry in partnership with Mergermarket, A View from Both Sides: How PE firms and sellers can form wise partnerships, reveals that successful PE deals occur when a thorough two-way due diligence is practiced by both the PE investor and the target investment company. One key area of potential growth for PE investors is to find companies with stellar management teams – and avoid targets with teams that are incompatible with their goals. At the same time, management teams need to understand whether an investor will make a good fit for their culture and working style.
June 13, 2017
Avoid Pitfalls by Masking Information Requests
By William Blandford, Managing Director at Blandford Associates and Member of the Board of M&A Standards
In estimating and planning for a divestiture, it is necessary to gather key data about the business to be carved out, to understand the scope and complexity of the carve-out, develop a sound Transition Services Agreement (TSA), and provide an estimate of the cost of the carve-out. But it can be difficult to collect data for a possible divestiture while under a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), and trying to minimize the number of people under an NDA.
May 30, 2017
May 2017 Chairman's Message
By Jim Jeffries, Chairman, M&A Leadership Council
Next month will mark the seventh anniversary of the M&A Leadership Council, an auspicious milestone that speaks to the evolution of the organization as a catalyst for professional excellence in the M&A community. It was June 29, 2010 that my partner Jack Prouty and I held the first event. The first program was held in Dallas, Texas and brought a total of twelve attendees. Since then more than 2,000 M&A professionals have attended M&A Leadership Council workshops all over the nation.
May 30, 2017
Insights from the 2016 Global Workforce Study
By Willis Towers Watson, a Partner of M&A Leadership Council
Successful M&A transactions often depend on their impact on employees, and effective leadership and communications make a critical difference to their engagement. Findings from the 2016 Global Workforce Study highlight the people risks inherent in these transactions and reveal what employees value during a period of change.
May 30, 2017
The Tax Advisory Role in Buy-side Transactions
By Michael Williams,Transaction Advisory Services Tax Leader for BDO, a Partner of the M&A Leadership Council
As a strategic buyer, you can run across a multitude of complexities when evaluating a target company for acquisition, which is why the due diligence process is so important. And while tax considerations play a significant role in most transactions, tax due diligence is often overlooked in the due diligence process.