M&A STORIES - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

In recent weeks Rob and Toby have veered slightly off the M&A topic to explore the emerging world of AI and how it might shake up M&A as we know it.  In doing that we've arrived at the challenges of adopting adequate regulatory and ethical controls for AI and never mind the slow cumbersome legal system and how that might cope with AI. The key point is that AI needs global standards fo...

Robert and Toby have been clamping at the bit to start talking about the need for strong ethics, regulatory and legal instruments to manage and control the global adoption of AI. There's no doubt about it. AI has the equal potential to cause untold harm, and the scandal playing out with the UK Post Office is a stark reminder of how ethics can be completely railroaded. That is why it must be d...

This week, the Dynamic Duo of Robert and Toby ponder on whether AI will drive a new wave of AI-influenced M&A transactions - or not.   Certainly, 2023 has seen a 40% downturn in M&A volume globally so what evidence is there that AI will offer a stimulus and create a new wave of transactions? It's not a simple question to answer because AI is still in its infancy, but adoption is accel...

Robert and Toby continue to delve into the topic of AI and in this episode, we start to examine how AI is or will impact each of the typical M&A processes. As the duo walk through the process from Deal Sourcing to Due Diligence and then into Legal Contracts and Valuation it becomes clear that AI is already playing a strong role in some aspects of M&A. But equally, there are other areas whe...

In the last episode, the dynamic duo (Rob and Toby ) started to talk about the emergence of AI, and this week, we continued the conversation to try and put some definition to AI.  And we also tried (but failed) to stay grounded and not get dragged into the stratosphere around AI. Anyway, this week's podcast was more serious than others as we sub-categorised AI into Machine Learning, Deep Lear...

Robert and Toby often get together like old men on a park bench, to discuss a variety of topics. Some of them become podcasts, others don't. And sometimes one topic sparks a discussion on something different. That was the case recently when the dynamic duo was trying to get their heads around AI and what impact it is/will have on the world of M&A.  It was from that discussion we asked our...

There is one certainty in life and that is if you choose any metaphor, Toby Tester can link it to M&A, and he doesn't even blink. In today's podcast, Toby manages to draw a distinction between the behavioral characteristics of pirates of old and those of several modern-day corporate heavyweights such as Rupert Murdoch, Elon Musk, and Lord Hansen. Toby's view is that just like pi...

To start with a tongue in cheek disclaimer: If we've offended any Corporate Lawyers or Investment Bankers in the recording of this podcast, we did so with gusto and enjoyed having a dig at your expense :-)  But enough of that. When and where did the term M&A originate? We use the term M&A freely as part of everyday language, but when and where did it all start. Our dastardly duo jump...

Just when you thought it was safe. Just when enough time had elapsed that you thought the future was safe and secure - - - THEY'RE BACK! Yes, after a hiatus of 12 months, the deadly duo of Robert Heaton and Toby Tester have returned to their popular podcast with even more M&A Stories. Today's episode is just an introduction to give you a flavour of what we will talk about. As always,...

It's the first podcast for 2023 from your hosts Rob and Toby and in this episode, Toby focuses on the top 5 post-close questions a CEO needs to ask on any deal.  But before we start let's put the CEO's task into perspective.  He's just spent the best part of last year focused on the deal, the constant back-and-forth conversations, the massive efforts around due diligence, the s...

Well, this podcast was recorded in late November 2022, but a quick hospital visit so Rob could undergo full knee replacement surgery meant that we didn't publish until early January 2023. Still, knee surgery was successful, so here goes.   And to help you navigate this episode, we refer to past episodes where we unpack some seriously disastrous M&A transactions, so if you want to know mor...

In this 2nd episode with PTS Consulting , we pick up with Barry Lewington and Hugh Van Wijk where we left off. but take time to delve deeper into some of the critical success factors in managing technology transition or transformation during M&A. Seasoned M&A professionals won't be surprised the hear that technology itself isn't the most important element. In fact it doesn't...

In today's episode, I'm joined by Barry Lewington and Hugh Van Wijk from PTS Australia to talk about their experiences in managing the technology integration (or separation) aspects of M&A.   We will be recording more podcasts with PTS in the future but from today's episode, there are several takeaways from our conversation. Technology integration can be a large part of any M&am...

In today's episode, Rob and Toby continue the conversation about 'infusion', the art of purposely planning the deal as a value-add exercise and being committed to adjusting your operating model to 'infuse' the best of both sides. Rob and Toby kick off by proposing that traditional integration is what we refer to as 'scale deals' ie: bolting two entities together...

Well, Toby's back from his quest to conquer Spain and Malta, and he's fresh with renewed enthusiasm. So much so that he has invoked Alice in Wonderland and Alice's conversation with the Cheshire Cat to demonstrate his thought processes. I'll let you, the listener find that delightful snippet. In this episode, Rob and Toby revisit a familiar theme that proposes that the outcome...

With Toby on vacation in Europe, I've had the opportunity to bring in a guest to the podcast, and I'm delighted that fellow M&A professional Anirvan Sen has joined me to talk about his experiences managing cultural change in M&A environments. In today's podcast, we unpack our thoughts that culture is a leadership responsibility and that it is the culmination of many differen...

In the last episode, we delved into Rob's background and how he got started in M&A. The tables have been turned, and it's Toby's turn to wallow under the spotlight. We learn quickly that Toby's first M&A experience was after joining a Financial Services business and leveraging his project management expertise. And he realized this was something he enjoyed doing because...

The dynamic duo aka Rob and Toby have spent many episodes talking about their respective M&A experiences, but we've never talked about how it all started.  Rob is slightly embarrassed about opening the kimono, but as he explains in this episode, it started with his ability to regularly be in the wrong place at the right time. By that, Rob means that he was often asked to pick up 'spe...

So in today's episode, Robert and Toby continue their conversation around value creation in M&A, but this time taking a more philosophical approach to the factors that impact the desire to go after value that is beyond what Rob defines as the 'bleeding obvious' By 'bleeding obvious' Rob is alluding to the usual synergies, cost reductions, and efficiencies that result f...

You might recall in the last podcast, that Robert and Toby got on a roll in talking about value creation during post-M&A integration so you won't be surprised that this is the topic for today's podcast. The Dastardly Duo hold firm to their belief that insufficient attention is paid to real v alue opportunities beyond what Rob describes as the 'bleeding obvious' And you&apos...

Just occasionally, Rob and Toby get into the groove and thoroughly enjoy their chosen 'topic de jour' and today was one of those events. The dynamic duo decided it was time to explore the principle of creative value during M&A.  And what do we mean by that? Well, a lot of post-deal value creation is what Rob calls the 'Bleeding Obvious' and what Toby prefers to call Combina...

In today's podcast, Rob and Toby start to discuss the impact that positive and negative emotions can have on the success of any M&A integration.  And to be clear, we are not talking about the bigger picture of 'culture' although that does have some bearing on the topic. What we are talking about are those situations where emotions such as fear, envy, anger, frustration (clearly...

In today's episode, Rob and Toby attempt to make sense of Elon Musk's $44Bn acquisition of Twitter. Attempt is the operative word here because only Elon musk knows why he's doing this so all Rob and Toby can do is offer some thoughts and speculation. What we do agree on is that this isn't just a pure social crusade by any stretch and there is most likely a business model in Elo...

When Toby first raised this as a podcast topic, I was immediately taken back to a phrase that my mother would use when I'd misbehaved, but it turns out Toby was talking about something completely different. What Toby was talking about was an alternative investment vehicle for targeted acquisition(s). According to Dr. Google, A SPAC  (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) is a company that has...

In recent episodes, Rob and Toby have started to look at M&A fraud and certainly, the HP Autonomy deal was on a massive scale, as was Theranos. And here in Australia, we are just starting to unravel the Ponzi scheme of Melissa Craddick.  But those are all massive frauds that captured almost global attention.   But what about the risk of uncovering fraud in everyday M&A? And maybe it's...