Best Practice Tradecraft in M&A Transactions

At Redcliffe Training our 'Best Practice in M&A Transactions' course leader has worked on corporate finance and capital markets transactions for over thirty years whilst holding client-side positions and leading advisory teams.

At the Department of Energy, he was a civil servant involved in the privatisation of British Gas, a global IPO involving a large advisory team. He also worked for two years (1990-92) in the Hungarian Government privatisation agency collaborating with numerous advisory firms, as the changing political environment triggered massive ownership change.

Our business selling training leader has worked at major investment banks including Swiss Bank Corporation International, now UBS, and Lazard. Additionally, he co-founded a successful M&A advisory boutique firm. This trainer retired from KPMG in 2021 having spent 13 years at the firm’s global M&A business, based in Scotland.

His experience combines a broad range of M&A and equity transactions in North and Central America, Asia Pacific and all the major European countries and most recently, Africa. His courses draw deeply on case studies from transactions he has run, bringing practical examples to set alongside the theory.

• Build confidence and understanding of every aspect of M&A transactions.
• Insight into what bringing a business to market entails and what to expect once a process commences
• Help principals and their advisers appreciate the complex issues and choices involved in buying and selling a business,
• Detailed focus on the transaction process and the choices at every stage
• Due diligence investigation, valuing a target, and how to complete a deal.
• The content will allow practitioners with less experience to accelerate their learning of the M&A process, through discussion of tradecraft, case studies and best practices.
• Ultimately, it is a walk-through of every aspect of buying and selling – a practical guide to identifying and successfully negotiating M&A deals.

• Embraces both the theory and the practice of M&A
• In terms of insight, it takes you through the whole process, through the eyes of both sellers and buyers
• Dwells on every step of the process from the buyer’s search and the seller’s preparation, through the initial approach to engaging, the information flow during the process and the issues involved in finalising terms
• Best-practice tradecraft in all types of buy-side and sell-side situations.
• Become aware of where value really lies
• Understand the soft skills needed to make a success of buying and selling
• How sellers can present their business most effectively
• And how buyers can make their bid the most attractive
• The trainer has been involved in negotiating and closing M&A transactions for over 25 years.

Our Best Practice in M&A course is a ‘must know’ for anyone likely to be involved in buying or selling a business, as an adviser or principal, and wishing to build their ability to execute M&A transactions, including:

• M&A professionals in investment banks, boutique advisory businesses, and the corporate finance arms of accountancy firms.
• Corporate business development teams, where acquisition is a key part of their strategy.
• Owner-managers of successful businesses, considering expansion by acquisition.
• Private equity professionals.

And a ‘nice to know’ for:

• Legal and other advisers involved in the M&A process, seeking a better understanding of how principals and their financial advisers initiate deals and negotiate terms.

Our Best Practice in M&A training course is especially beneficial to those with some experience of the acquisition process who want to accelerate their understanding of what drives successful deals as well as lessons in tradecraft and different ways to approach a potential target to buy the company.

For a private session, the course material can be refined to meet the specific needs of the client, including whether they are a business owner contemplating a sale, a company looking to make acquisitions, or an advisory firm building its M&A practice.

M&A is widely practised but not always well understood; many have a basic understanding of what a deal entails but lack insight into the details, the choices at every stage, and the nature of the work involved.

Transactions are a high-stakes business for both parties. Successful consummation is a landmark event for both parties. However, deals are frequently time-consuming and the costs of failure are high.

A key theme in the course material is therefore around how sellers and buyers can ensure that they are truly prepared to commit to a transaction process. The bulk of the material is then around choices, behaviours and objectives at each stage of the process itself. This is supported by reference material to underpin value discussions and due diligence investigation. Lastly, the material focuses on all the details around closing a transaction, including the commercial aspects of the main legal documents

Tools to help the parties resolve difficult issues are highlighted throughout.

Best Practice in M&A is a practical guide to all aspects of the M&A process and will be useful to anyone building a career in M&A, whether as an adviser or client.