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Middle Market M&A

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Middle Market M&A

Handbook for Investment Banking and Business Consulting

Wiley,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Text available

What's inside?

Don’t approach today’s middle-market M&A with yesterday’s knowledge.

Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

A dream team of experts – Kenneth H. Marks, Robert T. Slee, Christian W. Blees and Michael R. Nall – brings you this modern guide to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the middle market. It covers a surprising amount of ground, including down-in-the-weeds topics like tax structures and due diligence as well as complex issues of valuation, all presented in an engaging but not oversimplified manner. The most impressive aspect of the book, and the one likely to set it apart from similar works, is its discussion of the “soft issues,” the human aspects of M&A in which consultants should tread carefully. For the most part, the writing moves along with helpful, direct bulleted lists. Instead of the academic brain dump it could have been, this is actually a thoughtful attempt at helping advisers help others. Since the text occasionally bogs down in detail that may go beyond the needs of more casual readers, getAbstract recommends it to M&A practitioners in all career phases or to businesspeople who want to buy, sell or merge.

Summary

Postrecession Mergers and Acquisitions

Before 2008, those who wanted to buy, sell or merge midsize businesses operated in a different world than today’s precarious environment. Back then, unlimited and accessible financing flowed to all kinds of companies, almost without regard to their creditworthiness or underlying operations, to fund all sorts of endeavors. The results were overfinanced, overvalued businesses that struggled to make the returns needed in such an overheated market. However, average businesses today find it difficult to attract any interest from buyers, while top performers realize greater values than they did before 2008. However, executing M&A activity is much more difficult than it was prerecession. Advisers need more focused, in-depth knowledge than ever to navigate rigorous underwriting demands and complex global markets.

Even though the field of M&A has become more stringent, the amount of middle-market deals – for companies with between $5 million and $1 billion in annual revenue – is on the rise: Increasing numbers of private equity investors and baby boomer owners looking to cash out of their businesses augur increased activity. Mergers...

About the Authors

Kenneth H. Marks is founder and managing partner of High Rock Partners, Robert T. Slee founded MidasNation, Christian W. Blees is president and CEO of BiggsKofford Certified Public Accountants and BiggsKofford Capital Investment Bank, and Michael R. Nall established the Alliance of Merger and Acquisition Advisors.

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