Introduction: If you operate in the world of finance, business, or mergers and acquisitions, you’ve noticed that private equity (PE) activity is at a record breaking level. The number of PE deals reached 3,708 in the second quarter of 2021 (clocking in at over 4 billion dollars — more than half of the amount 2020 … Read more
I. Setting the StageUnderstanding your IPO rationale and its implications Understanding the pros and cons of going public, and understanding the long-term implications of doing so, are essential. Companies that focus on what being a public entity will be like post-IPO are more successful than those that simply focus on the initial public offering. … Read more
Introduction: Picture this: you are an acquirer feeling pretty confident about your next target, but before moving forward, you bring in a security expert to view the deal from a security lens. Turns out the corporate headquarters is an abandoned barn on a large remote piece of land…yikes. Suspicious to say the least. This anecdote … Read more
Introduction: As Corporate Global Executive and writer Pearl Zhu says, “Holistic Thinking is a combination of analysis, systems thinking, and critical thinking.” However, as Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activity continues to ramp up post-Covid, stakeholders’ and practitioners’ excitement for M&A has the potential to cloud the thoughtful analysis and overall strategy that should drive deals. … Read more
Introduction More companies went public in 2020 than any other year so far in the 21st century. From Roblox, to The Honest Company, to Poshmark, and Coinbase, the buzz behind going public continues as we move deeper into 2021. Driving the increased turn from private to public are a few business trends and market factors … Read more
Introduction: Value creation starts earlier than you think; it begins with an overarching M&A strategy for inorganic growth, which allows you to identify the most appropriate targets for your strategy. Once your targets are lined up, teams need to quickly shift to how they are going to create value through a specific acquisition or divestiture … Read more
Why do deals fail? Well, human nature and outside factors can certainly play a role, but often the problem primarily lies in the execution of due diligence, though not the execution of data collection. Due diligence, while it is getting better, has historically been focused on data collection and box checking (“find out these 15 … Read more
Integration remains one of the most talked about aspects of M&A, yet successful integration still alludes many acquirers. This can be due in part to the limited views of cross-functional leaders, as well as the tendency to either oversimplify integrations (think running off of checklists) or overcomplicate integrations (i.e. creating a completely new integration plan … Read more
Introduction: Despite the complexity of Post-Merger Integration (PMI), the process often does not receive the attention it deserves. This neglect unfortunately can contribute to the commonly referenced statistics of deals failing to generate their predicted value. In order to avoid such disappointing outcomes, Virtas Partners has cultivated a set of best practices for PMI. Specifically, we break … Read more
In our recent M&A Chat interview with David Lewis, when reflecting on his extensive experience in the worlds of finance and M&A, he notes he would tell his former self, “know what success looks like before you get into due diligence.” This seemingly simple advice is, in fact, not always common practice — especially with the ever-increasing trend … Read more