M&A activity has been trending upward in the last year and half to two years. There was a particular uplift in 2015 which reached the record-breaking value of $4.3 trillion worldwide. Some of that was fear-based because of what was going to happen with capital gain rates so many deals were completed in the latter half …
Tag: acquisitions
The Key to Successful First Meetings: Putting an Owner at Ease
Owners are usually skeptical or defensive when asked about selling their “not-for-sale” company. In fact, many will hang up or refuse to consider your offer. If you do manage to break through and get the owner to agree to a first meeting, your job is to put them at ease, dissuade fears and communicate the …
Acquisitions – Go Big or Go Home?
You don’t have to “go big or go home” to successfully grow your company through M&A. A small, well-executed acquisition that targets a specific need can sometimes be more powerful than a multi-billion dollar consolidation. Let’s take a look at a recent example from the news. Earlier this month, Conagra announced it would acquire Thanasi …
What Went Wrong? Turning Acquisition Failure into Success
“We did an acquisition about 15 years ago. It did not go well…I guess you could say we are still ‘recovering,’ the CEO of a family-owned business recently shared with me during a meeting. She went on to explain there were a number of integration issues and other challenges that cropped up post-closing that the …
“Heightened” Dealmaking Predicted for 2017
It seems like 2017 will be a strong year for acquisitions. A new report highlights a number of factors that could drive activity this year including the record levels of cash held by private equity firms and a favorable lending environment for borrowers. Potential changes to U.S. tax policy under the new administration could reduce …
Two Key Points for Strategic Buyers from 3M’s Latest Acquisition
3M, the maker of Post-it, will acquire Scott Safety from Johnson Controls for $2 billion to build up its safety division. This is the second largest acquisition for 3M after its purchase of Capital Safety, a maker of fall protection equipment such as harnesses, lanyards, and self-retracting lifelines, from KKR & Co. for $2.5 billion …
Is My Company Big Enough to Do an Acquisition?
There’s a myth that acquisitions are only executed by huge, publicly-traded, Fortune 500 companies, but that’s simply not the true. In reality, there are many acquisitions conducted by small and middle market firms that are private transactions and are not reported to the media. There are many reasons to consider acquisitions, regardless of the size …
M&A: Third Party or Do-It-Yourself?
You do not need an M&A advisor to pursue acquisitions. You might think I’m crazy for saying this, after all, we are M&A advisors, but the truth is you can pursue acquisitions on your own. In fact, for those of you who are so inclined to take the do-it-yourself approach, I lay out a step-by-step …
Are You Struggling to Find the Right Acquisition Targets?
Not finding the right company to acquire is the top challenge for middle market companies seeking to grow through mergers and acquisitions. According to Capstone’s survey of middle market executives, 28% noted lack of suitable companies as the strongest reason for not considering acquisitions as a tool for growth. Finding the right company to acquire …
Survey Shows Top Driver for Middle Market M&A in 2017 is Access to New Markets
Capstone Strategic’s survey of middle market executives shows most see the same (43%) or growing (31%) M&A activity in their industry. 47% are pursuing M&A in order to access new markets. Capstone Strategic, the leading M&A advisory firm for the middle market, surveyed middle market executives from multiple industries on their growth and M&A experience …
