Even a cursory search of the Internet will serve up countless blogs and websites on M&A deals. Some focus on the deals themselves - which are hot, which have derailed, speculation on why deals go bad or succeed, what due diligence did or did not reveal.
Still others offer commentary on deal flow statistics, which sectors seem ripe for activity and which have plateaued. All of these sites offer varying degrees of insight into the "what" and "why" of dealmaking. With the introduction of the Transaction Commons blog, Common Ground, we'd like to offer additional perspectives: on the" hows" of the deal process.
New conditions are emerging in the current dealmaking environment. While deal volume is down, the speed at which M&A deals are being completed, according to Towers Perrin research, is accelerating. In 2007, the average deal was completed in 142 days; in 2008, the average was 80 days.
How these deals were completed in less time – the process – is a question that intrigues us. What's the story behind that deal? Was the compressed time the result of a process that was either planned or emerged? What tools and steps were used (other than the obvious human sacrifices of longer hours and lost sleep) to get the deal done?
In a recent Forrester Research study, analyst Daniel Krauss observed that M&A is in a state of evolution and will become "a coherent process with supporting tools."
Much of the current M&A discussion covers each deal as a unique event with specific conditions. It's a valid approach. Common Ground is a forum for exploring the process of dealmaking – the "common ground" beyond unique events. The purpose of our blog is to look into this space where tacit knowledge and underlying but often uncodified practices of dealmaking meet.
In future posts we will raise questions, offer commentary and feature guest expertise on the dealmaking process, from the perspectives of buy-side, sell-side, legal, banking and other parties to the deal. And we look forward to a shared dialogue with you and invite your comments.
4-30-2009