Chairman’s Message – October 2020
By Mark Herndon, Chairman of the M&A Leadership Council
Like you, we are actively monitoring multiple data sources to gauge the post-pandemic rebound in M&A long anticipated for Q3-4 of this year. By most sources, the total value of deals YTD still trails 2019 YTD value by approximately one-third. Yet, most sectors reported a strong resumption in deal activity during Q3, with general expectations for continued strong activity through Q4 and into early 2021.
Among other data points, these three caught our attention as significant for corporate acquirers.
- First, large “mega-deals.” According to MarketWatch, the number of large deals over $5B in value announced YTD now exceeds any total since 2015, with $256B in announced deal volume (Refinitiv).
- Second, as indicated in the M&A Leadership Council’s pulse survey during Q2, Global M&A Reset: During and After the COVID-19 Storm, companies are pursuing a variety of deal-types including strategic growth deals, distressed assets, and carve-outs of divested businesses as companies assess core businesses and focus their portfolios. (Note: for an excellent read just co-authored by frequent M&A Leadership Council Presenter, Duncan Smithson, and a colleague at Council Partner, Willis Towers Watson, please see this article: “Divestment Activity Poised for Rebound in the Second Half of 2020.”
- Finally, many Sellers are still sorting out post-pandemic financial impacts. Our sources have indicated intense Buyer competition, thus higher premium valuations and less margin for error, for those companies with strong pandemic financial performance or substantially less impact than initially contemplated.
Given these complexities and the already challenging internal resource constraints to effectively execute M&A, our Fall 2020 line-up of online training events is tailor-made to support your M&A Team’s ability to deliver the results you expect.
Fall 2020 – Online Training Programs.
- The Art of M&A® Due Diligence, Oct. 6-8. One of our most popular training events, this workshop has recently been expanded to include highly relevant insights on IT and cybersecurity due diligence, essential aspects of financial diligence, people and organizational due diligence, and managing the overall diligence process.
- The Art of M&A® IT Effectiveness, Oct. 13-15. Back by popular demand – and with all new content! This training program walks participants through the entire end-to-end M&A lifecycle to identify IT’s essential priorities and requirements with extensive group work-outs and application exercises.
- The Art of M&A® Program Management, Oct. 27-29. This is not your predecessor’s program management training! We’ll assume you get the basics of effective program management, and instead build your understanding, skills, and process expertise to help you execute the full enterprise Integration Management Office (IMO) roles and responsibilities with outstanding results.
- The Art of M&A® Integration, November 10-12. With all-new content for 2020! We’ve focused this training event on the key leader’s viewpoint to ensure your ability to establish the Integration Strategy Framework and implement it with outstanding customer and employee experience outcomes.
- The Art of M&A® Divestitures & Carve-Outs, Dec. 1-3. We’ve long believed this was one of our best and most important workshops. Starting with the unique challenges and dynamics of divestitures and carve-outs, you will learn the best methods for establishing and executing the transition services agreement and delivering results in what most skilled buyers and sellers quickly acknowledge as the most challenging deal-type of all.
Please check out the detailed program descriptions via the training page and reach out with any questions. We look forward to seeing you at an online training program soon!
Very best regards,
Mark Herndon
Chairman, M&A Leadership Council