M&A news and insight for the middle market

Adam Reinebach

Playing Out of Position

April 27, 2009 - One of the most famous stories about Hall of Fame basketball star Magic Johnson is his 42-point, 15-assist and 7-rebound performance in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals. Not only was Magic a rookie playing in a series-clinching game, but an injury to center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar meant the starting point guard had to play out of position as center for most of the game. The feat showed Magic’s versatility and his clutch play, and was a testament to the adage that great players are able to adapt their games to any situation.

M&A Twitter

March 23, 2009 - HEADLINE: Proprietary M&A Deal Found on TwitterOkay, that’s not a real headline, but theoretically it could be in a couple years. For those who haven’t caught the Twitter bug, or don’t even know what I’m talking about, let me explain.

No Sacred Cows

February 9, 2009 - When times were heady and credit flowed like water—that was only two years ago, in case you forgot—most M&A event panels were self-congratulatory, repetitive and downright boring. Even sessions with strong, Bob Costas-style moderators like yours truly fell victim to mass agreement. With so much money to invest with such great leverage, the only real debate, it seemed, was at what multiple buyers should reconsider a deal. (The answer, by the way, was typically, ‘It depends on the industry.’)

The Future B-School Hire in Private Equity

January 12, 2009 - An acquaintance of mine who’s about to finish his M.B.A. asked me the other day whether he should take a job offer to work as a financial analyst at a large transportation company out West, making ‘okay’ money, or hold out for a job in New York working in the capital markets. To me, this wasn’t much of a dilemma. I told him to take the analyst job, get some experience, and in a couple years when there’s more stability in the capital markets, you can consider moving back to New York.

Looking For The Positive Spin

December 8, 2008 - Even for a glass half full guy like me, it’s been tough lately to find something good to say about this market. What seems like the Neverending List of Negative News seems to grow on a daily basis. Just yesterday, the NY Times Dealbook referenced a report from Bernstein Research concluding that M&A activity is going to drop 25% next year and even more in 2010 before it bottoms out. Yes, the report said there are select industries that will continue to see healthy deal flow, but for investment banks and others whose business is linked to transactions, the general outlook for the next 18 months is about doing less with less.

Reinebach: Know Your Market

August 11, 2008 - When reaching out to or dealing with corporate dealmakers, a targeted message is paramount.

Corporate Dealmakers

August 4, 2008 - If you’re shopping a healthcare company and want to find a few private equity professionals or investment bankers who focus on this area, it won’t take long to get started. Type in the right phrases on a search engine like Google, or search a news-rich site like www.mergersunleashed.com, and within seconds you’re looking at relevant results.

Marriages & Mergers

July 22, 2008 - Despite all the work that goes into planning a wedding and booking a nice honeymoon, anyone who has ever been married knows that the front end of the marriage is the easy part. The hard part, of course, is what comes after: Sharing bank accounts, working on house projects together, having children, and of course determining who gets the remote. The same holds true in the M&A world, where the real work begins after the acquisition.…

What Banks Need Now

July 21, 2008 - Whether it’s covered bonds, short-selling restrictions or propping up Fannie and Freddie, the federal government has been playing an active role in trying to stabilize the financial markets. Some would argue they’re not doing enough, while others want to put the brakes on this type of intervention, fearful that these actions will lead to unwarranted and inefficient regulation.

PE Firms Wearing Several Hats

June 23, 2008 - Deal sourcing. Fund raising. Preparing companies for exit. Buying champagne. Those were some of the key tasks for private equity firms during the not-so-long-ago boom years.

Headline Risk

June 2, 2008 - AAs quickly as many in the financial media declared the LBO market dead a few months ago, business news sites are now suddenly full of pronouncements that private equity is back, baby! Perhaps fatigued by months of negativity, reporters seem to be latching onto every sign that M&A activity is improving—from optimistic comments at M&A events to general partners who aren’t returning phone calls to reporters as quickly as they used to.

Foreign Concept

April 23, 2008 - At least on paper, the conditions for foreign buyers interested in U.S. targets couldn’t be more auspicious. The dollar is weak, M&A financing is harder to come by for financial sponsors, and many strategic buyers in the States are hard-pressed to make acquisitions at a time when earnings targets are being missed.

Post-Crunch M&A

April 21, 2008 - No matter how challenging the deal market becomes, it’s a sure bet there will be folks, funds and firms who find ways to benefit from the down cycle.

Networking in a Down Market

April 7, 2008 - A couple months ago, I had the pleasure of attending the American Securitization Forum’s annual conference in Las Vegas, one of the asset-backed securities market’s premier events.

Where Retirement and M&A Meet

March 25, 2008 - With scores of Baby Boomers approaching retirement, it’s easy to see why the Prudentials and Fidelitys of the world have been developing new products that provide retirement income. But mid-market dealmakers ought to be just as excited.