M&A market activity and trends

May 6, 2011 - by Ken Marlin

Marlin & Associates recently issued our May 2011 Market Update.  As you will see, it provides our sense of M&A values, activity and trends for the dozen plus technology, information and healthcare sectors that we follow.

Click here for our Market Update.

April was a busy month, with several firms announcing multiple deals (including Apax Partners, Computershare and IHS).

Arbitration and M&A

May 30, 2011 - by András Lendvai

The ancient principle si vis pacem, para bellum (if you wish for peace, prepare for war) still holds true for modern-day M&A deals. During the drafting of the transaction agreement, the parties should prepare themselves for future disputes. Since arbitration can ensure that the tribunal deciding on the merits will have the special expertise required for complex disputes such as those arising out of M&A deals, it is common for parties involved in such transactions to submit their disputes to arbitration.

The top 5 greatest dangers facing buyers in an acquisition

Jun 1, 2011 - by István Préda

This month, we summarise the top five greatest dangers facing buyers in acquiring a company.

1) The seller leans back
Buyers try to bind sellers to the company post acquisition, but often the shareholders agreement negotiations become so complicated that sellers are eventually let off the hook for a discount in the acquisition price.

M&A market activity and trends

Jun 9, 2011 - by Ken Marlin

Marlin & Associates has issued our June 2011 Market Update. The M&A Market for mid-sized technology-enabled companies continues to show strength in terms of both volume and values.

Click here for our Market Update.

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M&A Deal Value up 39% this year

Jun 23, 2011 - by Joel Lessem

M&A activity in the US continued to pick up pace in the first half of 2011 and is expected to pick up steadily during the second half of the year, according to the PwC US Mid-Year M&A Outlook 2011.  The PwC report reviewed the last 12 months, and insights I took from it aligned well with a recent analysis by Firmex that reviewed the last 24 months of Data room usage and 2011 M&A trends. Our report showed a 43% growth in data room usage by M&A advisory firms, which is a good leading indicator for future M&A deals over the next six months.

Tips on legal due diligence for debt free cash free valuations

Jun 30, 2011 - by András Lendvai

Enterprise Value and Contractual Purchase Price – Debt Free Cash Free Valuation

The valuation of the target company is a substantial element of any given acquisition transaction. This article showcases the DFCF (debt free cash free) standard for enterprise valuation and the issues raised in the context of transaction contracts. The DFCF valuation is a calculation that ignores how the target company’s business is funded. The DFCF valuation shows the value of the company without accounting for the net cash or net debt held by the company, either on average during the year, or at closing.

M&A market activity and trends

Jul 12, 2011 - by Ken Marlin

Marlin & Associates has issued our July 2011 Market Update. As you will see, it provides our sense of M&A values, activity and trends for the dozen plus technology, information and healthcare sectors that we follow. 

Click here for our Market Update.

M&A Master Class Series - Part 1 Recap

Sep 29, 2011 - by Joel Lessem

Recently I participated in the M&A Master Class webinar alongside Andrew J. Sherman, author and Partner at Jones Day.  What an incredible opportunity to listen to a leading authority on M&A, up close and personal. This session took listeners through not only his views on the current state of the market but also key steps to prepare for selling a company.  The slides to his presentation are posted on the Firmex website, but I thought I would re-iterate his views on the current state of the market, which he took us through in our conversation.

International Competitiveness in M&A - Webinar Recap

Mar 21, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

Today we enjoyed an in-depth discussion of International Competitiveness in M&A with Ken Smith, author of the new book, The Art of M&A Strategy and Associate Dean of Executive Education at the University of Guelph. His insights into how competitive Canada and the U.S. are in cross border deals was revealing.

Ken also answered questions regarding the attractiveness of North American companies to Europe and shared his thoughts on how North American companies can begin to be more competitive in cross broder M&A.

Canada Outpacing U.S. M&A Deal Market at Start of 2012

Mar 26, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

In our 2012 M&A market outlook we predicted a positive recovery for M&A, based largely on 2H 2011 deal flow. Much of this activity is currently being generated in Canada, while the rest of the market seems to be slowing.