Commercial real estate attorney Brett Budlong opens up about the thrills, the stakes, and the hot-button issues in the commercial real estate M&A market. Legal nuts and bolts provide the underpinnings for entire transactions. This frank discussion is full of straight talk and horror stories from across the spectrum of real estate deals. Brett discusses issues with landlords, the impact of the growth mindset, how personality plays into negotiations, and how going too fast can lead to missing prob...
Jan 14, 2023•1 hr 14 min
Healthcare is a top global issue that impacts personal lives and corporate deals. Michael Roub returns to M&A Talk to discuss recent changes in the healthcare M&A industry. In this wide-ranging discussion, he covers how changes in interest rates impact deals, which sectors attract the most interest from private equity groups, and the attraction of dental services. Topics also include where growth opportunities lie within the industry and the biggest challenge to doing transactions in the healthc...
Jan 11, 2023•52 min
M&A attorney Hans Sperling goes beyond dry legal talk discussing the impact the human element has in M&A. Focusing on more than the legal issues, Hans talks about anticipating what can go wrong and avoiding problems throughout an M&A deal rather than just solving them. He discusses risk aversion and how this impacts a deal, the biggest and most common mistakes in an LOI, how leverage shifts during a transaction, the importance of risk allocation, and what makes a business an attractive acquisiti...
Jan 09, 2023•44 min
The importance of a Quality of Earnings (QoE) report is often underestimated, and there is more art than just science to it. Bill Wiersema returns to M&A Talk to discuss the top seven issues today in financial due diligence. How COVID has impacted earnings, the biggest change in GAAP rules in the past 70 years, the value that can be added by having a QoE report, key issues related to diligence, new lease accounting rules, and real-life examples – all wrapped up in an engaging episode that will h...
Jan 03, 2023•1 hr 28 min
The world of appraisals and valuations is full of jargon and terms not often heard in the M&A world, such as strategic, investment, and fair value. Abhi Mathews, a chartered financial analyst, clarifies these terms, laying the theoretical groundwork on how appraisals work, and placing it all in the real world. He explains the different asset classes appraisals cover, how appraisals differ from business valuations, what period a valuation is based on, the role of an appraiser in an M&A transactio...
Jan 01, 2023•1 hr 1 min
What is the effect of combining the real estate industry with M&A? Deb Smith has over 25 years of M&A experience and shares insights into the niche world of real estate M&A, explaining the industry in a nutshell. Deb discusses the returns in real estate compared to the stock market, the appeal of the US market for international real estate M&A, the importance of the exit strategy at the start of a transaction, and predicts future changes in the real estate M&A industry. This is a chat you won’t ...
Dec 23, 2022•58 min
Jeff Hooke returns to M&A Talk to discuss the world of private equity and the truth about returns from private equity fund investments. He digs into the private equity markets, highlighting the fact that the PE industry does not beat the public market, despite what investors want you to think. Jeff discusses pension funds, private equity funds vs. the public market, the gold standard for institutional investment funds, tips, advice, and book recommendations from Wall Street history to the Old We...
Dec 21, 2022•1 hr
You can learn a lot about M&A from books, but the best lessons come from real-life experiences that you won’t read about in the books. Entrepreneur Jonathan Jay shares his learnings from buying 48 companies in London in just 2.5 years. From the crucial role that confidence plays in buying, running, and selling a business to how passion, talent, and profit can work together to make you more successful to tips for making strong hires for your team – this episode is full of priceless advice for any...
Dec 20, 2022•1 hr 6 min
Changing career tracks can be challenging, but it can also be exciting and lucrative. Going from economics grad to lawyer to tech entrepreneur, Nick Fogle, founder of SaaS start-up Wavve, a tool for podcasters to turn audio into video, has gotten the start-up itch and learned how to bootstrap his way through several career iterations. Nick shares the lessons he learned from teaching himself to code through the multi-million dollar acquisition of Wavve in 2021 and into his second start-up, Churnk...
Dec 20, 2022•1 hr 5 min
What exactly is a family office? How are they structured, and what goes into their investment decisions? Family offices are common buyers in the middle market, so it pays to understand them. This conversation with Alejandro Levy, a Senior Investment Manager with InvestX Capital, gives you a behind-the-scenes look at what sets family offices apart, the types and sizes of family offices, what role the family office plays in the M&A space, and what a family office focuses on when considering a comp...
Dec 11, 2022•39 min
What is the creator economy? How can creators make money from their social media platforms? This is the story of how college friends Harry Gestetner and Simon Pompan created Fanfix – a platform for creators to monetize and engage their fanbase and create a recurring revenue stream. In over 18 months, they went from concept to being bought for 8-figures by SuperOrdinary. They discuss how to monetize a fanbase, engage Gen Z consumers, the vertical markets Fanfix works in, what’s next in platforms ...
Dec 01, 2022•51 min
When selling your company, you can get a better price if you consider more than simply growing revenue and profits. The question is – what do you need to do? How long will it take? What’s the payoff? Channing Hamlet, an Investment Banking Visionary, shares his 25+ years of experience helping sellers prepare for a sale. He discusses what it takes to sell your company for a premium, the four most important issues to consider, and how to put a framework in place to make the sale process smooth and ...
Nov 21, 2022•1 hr 4 min
How does high-growth private M&A work? What are some of the industries involved, and what is the process? Will Hawthorne, Founder of Avid Capital Advisors, an investment bank, and General Partner at Sugar Capital, a venture capital firm, shares his experience in the high-growth private M&A market. He discusses the major differences in deal structure between private and public deals, recent changes in the market that impact how cash-rich companies grow, how valuation is handled in high-growth M&A...
Nov 12, 2022•1 hr 1 min
There’s an open secret in the M&A world – tax insurance. It lets you take risk off the table and turn it into a negotiating point. Yoav Shans and James Swan, tax experts from McGill and Partners — an insurance broker firm, lay it out clearly. What is tax insurance, how can it impact M&A decisions, who pays for it, and how can it help close your deal? Get answers to these questions, and many more, for buyers and sellers of any size transaction since, as we all know, you can’t escape taxes. View t...
Nov 08, 2022•54 min
Whether you want to sell your company or are looking to buy another company to help your growth, there is a lot to consider. Tips, advice, and tales of the good, the bad, and the ugly sides to this process come from Elizabeth Cholawsky and Taylor Viens. They are with HG Insights - a leading company in the gathering and application of data to make informed acquisition decisions. In this episode, they discuss the importance of paying attention to other companies, the role that data can play in an ...
Oct 30, 2022•1 hr 1 min
When selling a mid-market business, you may run into a family office interested in acquiring your company. But, what are family offices, how do they work, and what do they look for in a target? In this episode with James Carey, a partner at a private family office, we discuss the differences between a family office, private equity firms, and strategic acquirers, look at how family offices create value, and define growth equity. We also talk about the elements of the family office capital growth ...
Oct 20, 2022•1 hr 2 min
When a company is sold, the relationship between the parties has a significant impact on the success of the transaction. We discuss the sale of XPS Technologies, a private shipping software company, by Descartes, a publicly traded firm with a $5.9 billion market cap, and share perspectives on the acquisition process from both sides of the table. We discuss Descartes’ acquisition strategy and how XPS fit into it, the synergies each business looked for, key lessons learned from the acquisition, an...
Oct 11, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Roger Royse, M&A attorney and tax specialist, discusses the sensitive issue of taxes and the implications of selling a closely held company with few shareholders. He presents a definition of a closely held company and discusses differences this sort of company presents in an M&A transaction, some issues around employees, and the “phantom plan.” He also addresses the importance of considering taxes when forming a company and looking ahead to the tax implications when it comes time to exit the com...
Oct 01, 2022•48 min
This is a different sort of episode on M&A Talk . This personal chat about happiness features Marco Robert, an entrepreneur, business consultant, and truly happy person. What does happiness have to do with M&A? Why is happiness a taboo topic? How does happiness relate to the business world? What is the correlation between happiness and success? How do you find balance in your own environment? Full of wisdom, personal anecdotes, book recommendations, and much more, this episode will give you much...
Sep 27, 2022•58 min
Due diligence is a critical step in the M&A process, but it doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Anthony Nitsos specializes in helping companies optimize internal systems and shares his insights and tips on preparing for due diligence. He discusses what is involved, the areas covered, how to prepare, common patterns, and the buyer’s goal. He also covers the cost of due diligence versus the cost of being unprepared and the impact on the final price. Don’t shortchange yourself in this vit...
Sep 16, 2022•55 min
Listen in to this discussion about human capital and how it can impact the value of your business with Marco Robert, an international consultant, author, and entrepreneur with years of experience helping companies turn their fortunes around. During this wide-ranging chat with advice and real-life examples, he discusses the impact employees have on the value of a business, what may block an owner from creating more value, the biggest challenge owners face, and advice on how to create value in you...
Sep 11, 2022•51 min
Leon Brujis talks about 2nd-level thinking and the art of investing in middle-market companies. A partner with Palladium, Leon discusses how 2nd-level thinking applies to every investing discipline, from hedge funds to private equity, venture capital, and more. He highlights the origins and impact of this concept, what makes a great investor, how to develop these skills and ensure you are engaging in 2nd-level thinking, how education impacts creativity, and how this all comes together to generat...
Sep 09, 2022•50 min
If the ins and outs of the manufacturing M&A world interest you, listen in on this discussion with Jorge Maceyras, investment banker and M&A manufacturing expert. Topics include top issues for manufacturing companies that don’t exist in other industries, details about negative working capital, how capital expenditures impact an M&A transaction, common supply chain issues, what the main external economic factors are, and what buyers usually look for when making an acquisition in the manufacturing...
Sep 02, 2022•41 min
Join us for this continuing conversation with experts in the M&A field, Jim Evanger and Brent Paris, as they share their diverse experiences in partnering with private equity firms. They give insights into what the private equity buyer is thinking, share successful partnership stories, and the prerequisites for a business owner partnering with a PE firm. Listen now to discover how to get more upside from your business and consider how a PE partner might be able to help you achieve your ultimate ...
Aug 26, 2022•48 min
Experienced dealmaker and entrepreneur Touraj Parang shares his philosophy that an exit strategy, if implemented early, is the surprising secret to ultimate startup success. This wide-ranging discussion covers the differences and parallels between venture capital and corporate development, common mistakes to avoid when selling, planning a successful exit strategy, insights into how to make leverage work in exit planning, and tips on negotiating the LOI and purchase agreement for a successful exi...
Aug 17, 2022•1 hr 24 min
The relationship between acquirer and seller is a complex one in the field of M&A. Join us for a chat between friends and colleagues Michael Frankel and Jeff Wald as they discuss M&A from the point of view of an acquirer vs. a seller, the importance of the seller’s message to employees informing them of the acquisition and through the transition, firsthand stories of the importance of managing integration, and the differentiation between managing a large-scale organization vs. an early-stage com...
Aug 15, 2022•35 min
What is outsourced corporate development? What companies are suited for this type of growth, and what is the process? Ryan Goral, founder of G-Spire Group, a company focused on helping entrepreneurs grow through acquisitions, answers these questions and more. Topics include prerequisites an owner should have in place before pursuing growth, what’s involved in different phases, discussion of the most challenging part of making an acquisition, what comes after an offer is accepted, and the integra...
Aug 15, 2022•39 min
Can you build and sell a tech company without having a tech background? What’s the difference between virtual and augmented reality? What does the future look like for immersive technology and the metaverse? Jeff Meisner talks about this and more, including his experience co-founding a tech company and being acquired by a leading immersive technology platform company. He has advice for first-time tech entrepreneurs and insights into the emerging AR/VR tech industry and the future of immersive te...
Aug 05, 2022•56 min
What exactly is an interim CEO? What makes their role different from a permanent CEO? How are they incentivized, and what comes next? Join us as we talk with Jim Evanger, an experienced CEO, interim CEO, and operating partner for private equity firms. He discusses how the position of interim CEO was created, the experience necessary to be successful in the role, why a company would consider this position, and tips for hiring an interim CEO. Find out why interim CEOs have become so popular in rec...
Aug 04, 2022•56 min
What’s the not-for-sale marketplace? If you’re in corporate development, why should you consider businesses that aren’t actively for sale? Listen as we fully explore the world of corporate development, specifically how to pursue businesses that aren’t on the market. We’ll also learn the most common mistakes sellers make when they’re approached by a buyer and how sellers of businesses can position themselves in the best light when a potential buyer is courting them. View the complete show notes f...
Jul 29, 2022•55 min
