M&A news and insight for the middle market

Kelly Holman

Holman: M&A TV

August 19, 2009 - Will the drama in M&A translate to a mainstream audience? One Hollywood hopeful thinks so.

Holman: PE's Forecast

June 11, 2009 - All may not be as bad as the dark clouds suggest, as a spate of recent deals provide reason for cheer.

Starting Small May Lead To Something Big

May 4, 2009 - Despite the ever-mushrooming number of independent mergers-and-acquisitions advisory boutiques, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that the middle market dealmaking landscape has changed. The pace of M&A activity in the market has slowed dramatically, having been hit hard by the same challenging macroeconomic and credit market conditions as the $1 billion-plus M&A business.

Private Equity Under New Law

March 30, 2009 - It’s about time we had more rules to govern the U.S. financial system, but every corner of it?

Beer anyone?

February 23, 2009 - The summer baseball season hasn’t arrived yet, but that doesn’t mean an ice cold beer still doesn’t have plenty of appeal in the meantime. Satiating the thirst for beer, it turns out, can be a pretty compelling proposition at just about any time of the year.

Deal Professionals Try To Remain Active

January 19, 2009 - As the New Year kicked off, the credit marts remained frozen and business seller expectations high.

Slow Deal Making Leads To Bigger Problems For The MM

December 15, 2008 - It would be easy to point at the big deal-focused private equity firms behind the collapsed buyouts of BCE and Huntsman as the latest victims of the mega-deal, or multi-billion dollar transaction era, or the case that middle market dealmakers are far better situated to deal with the current economic downturn. After all, smaller deals require less debt, making them easier to close when senior financing is hard to come by.

Slow Deal Making Leads To Bigger Problems For The MM

December 15, 2008 - It would be easy to point at the big deal-focused private equity firms behind the collapsed buyouts of BCE and Huntsman as the latest victims of the mega-deal, or multi-billion dollar transaction era, or the case that middle market dealmakers are far better situated to deal with the current economic downturn. After all, smaller deals require less debt, making them easier to close when senior financing is hard to come by.

Change Is In The Air

November 10, 2008 - Change is a word that can encompass a lot. It served as the basis of a slogan that helped propel Barack Obama to President-elect and soon to be the nation’s next Commander-in-Chief.

What’s old is often new again

September 15, 2008 - What’s old is often new again, or so goes a variation of a phrase. The phrase couldn’t be more suitable this year than in the world of Wall Street, where a perfect credit storm just brought down the 158 year old storied banking franchise Lehman Brothers and resulted in JPMorgan’s bargain-basement purchase of Bear Stearns earlier this summer. All the cliffhanger-like speculation that had been swirling this summer about the fate of Lehman Brothers ended on Monday when the investment bank announced its bankruptcy filing.

Financial Services Buying Spree

August 11, 2008 - The words couldn’t suggest a worse environment for shareholders of banks and financial institutions. But, as the old adage goes, “one person’s trash is another’s treasure”, couldn’t be truer when it comes to financial services, an industry where many expect will produce its share of M&A investment bonanzas.

Going Private Still Best Option For Family Businesses

July 14, 2008 - Family business owners can be a downright difficult lot, especially when it comes to selling their own companies.

Holman: Flight to Quality

June 11, 2008 - The familiar mantra has reared up again in the mid-sized transaction world.

“Flight to quality.”

June 8, 2008 - The perennially-sounded mantra has reared up again in the mid-sized transaction world in 2008, a period not unlike the difficult 2001 time frame. The emphasis on quality businesses couldn’t be more important in this year’s middle market M&A auction pageant, especially given the credit and economic challenges hammering businesses of all sizes.

Flexibility Is Key to Weathering Credit Conditions

May 5, 2008 - The U.S. transaction business is struggling like a lumbering bear in springtime looking for berries. Fortunately, some private capital investors are finding unique ways to invest in a difficult M&A environment even if it’s not in the traditional leveraged buyout.