M&A
What are the disadvantages of a stock deal?
There is no such thing as "the perfect deal." That goes for nearly any deal structure and across any industry. Measuring the pros and cons of M&A needs to be done…
June 11, 2014Insights
M&A insights & market research
Perspective on valuation, deal structure, and sector dynamics across the middle market — written for founders, owners, and investors.
M&A
How to Project Cash Flow When Doing a Deal?
I hate subjectivity and guesswork. Business analytics is the art of trying to take the guesswork out of any important business decision where a great deal of money…
June 2, 2014M&A
A Bidding War for Hillshire Brands
Earlier this month Hillshire Brands offered a bid at $4.3 billion for Pinnacle Foods in a cash-and-stock deal . Many analysts thought it was a surprisingly good…
May 30, 2014M&A
You Can't Sell Potential
In our work with business buyers and sellers, there's always a disconnect between what the seller wants and how much the buyer wishes to pay. It's a very natural…
May 27, 2014M&A
"That Question Can Wait Until Due Diligence"
Business buyers are often more sophisticated. That's one of the biggest reason business sellers need expert representation in mergers and acquisitions. �In their…
May 26, 2014M&A
HR 2274 & the SEC No Action Letter--The Pros and Cons of a Little M&A Industry Deregulation
Those who really have a pulse on this market know there are some real changes a foot which will impact deal makers and makees alike. Thanks to HR 2274--part of the…
May 22, 2014M&A
Why I'm Always Blogging
Here at the M&A blog , we're working to create and distribute as much relevant and interesting content as we can almost as quickly as we are able to do so. The…
May 17, 2014M&A
Average Industry Multiples Were Meant to Be Shattered
A great deal of people think they're above average �which, of course, can't possibly be true because it flies in the face of the very definition of a bell-curve.…
May 16, 2014M&A
Financial Projections: Ensuring the PitchBook is Pitch-Perfect
I had a drawn-out phone conversation the other day with a potential business buyer who was up-in-arms about the financial projections. "They're much too high given…
May 15, 2014M&A
Apple, Inc. Beats Acquisition: A Foot in the Door
After the recent news reports of Apple Inc. to acquire Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion , one might wonder if this deal is intended to substitute coming out with…
May 14, 2014M&A
Starting a MicroFund: Why Mini-Funds Will Be the Way of the Future
We get a decent amount of calls from folks looking to start a private equity fund or build their business by raising private capital . But unlike the world of the…
May 13, 2014M&A
Selling Your Business to a Competitor: Analyzing the Risk-Return Trade-offs
Prepping the sale of a company is stressful enough before bringing competitive nuances into the fray. One risky consideration when getting a deal done will always…
May 12, 2014M&A
Time to Sell Your Business: Five Reasons Why Now Might Be a Great Time
It has been over a decade since the mergers and acquisitions sector has been in as favorable of a position as it is now . Factors that typically drive deals, like…
May 10, 2014M&A
Real Estate: The Albatross of Today's Virtual Business Model
In working with a recent client in the IT services market , he made a very poignant remark regarding the real estate owned by the business : ...this thing is like…
May 8, 2014M&A
Why Most Investment Banks Suck at Marketing
We help businesses sell and divest. In some cases, we help them grow before they sell. That's what we do, that's what we're good at. In doing so, we typically must…
May 7, 2014M&A
Perfect Storm for M&A: Flush Balance Sheets & Higher Valuations
As the dreary clouds of a post-recession ebb away, we're starting to see the silver-lining turn to bright lights on the horizon. In short, there is a perfect storm…
May 2, 2014M&A
A Mega-mess for Ad Agency Mega-Mergers
As one might recall, last summer Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) and Publicis Groupe SA (PUB.FR) announced a $35 billion merger that would create the largest advertising…
April 29, 2014M&A
Owner Health Issues Plaguing Mergers & Acquisitions
Selling anything under duress is always less than ideal. Unfortunately we're never privy to when misfortune will strike. As businesses age, so do their staff, the…
April 28, 2014M&A
Preparing Your Business For Eventual Sale
In the course of our consulting work within the middle market, we often find that most, if not all, business owners fail to have a plan that includes an exit from…
April 26, 2014M&A
Throwing the Skeletons Out of the Closet
No one is perfect. Businesses are typically run by the imperfect risk-takers . This is one of the main reasons companies require some deal of "spring cleaning"…
April 11, 2014M&A
How to Boost Business Value
We do a great deal of consulting work before the inevitable sale of a business . There are numerous qualitative and quantitative methods for increasing the value of…
April 11, 2014M&A
3 Posts I Wish I Would Have Written
Unfortunately, there's not enough time in the day. For some of us, there aren't enough ideas in the can to create some of the best content out there. Sometimes I'm…
April 10, 2014M&A
Compensation Equity Transfers
Suppose Steve and Betty have concluded that it makes sense to start transferring to Dave a larger share of the company�s equity as part of a transition plan. He…
April 9, 2014M&A
Key Questions to Shape Your Exit Strategy
It's hard to concentrate on an exit strategy when you are in the midst of operating your business, but just like death and taxes, a business exit is inevitable.…
March 21, 2014