For this final discussion, I found two very different articles discussing new tr

For this final discussion, I found two very different articles discussing new trends in the mergers & acquisitions market. From Bloomberg there is an article discussing changes in the M&A market as smaller, boutique investment banks are making headway in a market formerly controlled by smaller group of “big name” investment banks (think Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, etc.). The second article is a summary of a survey of 200 big corporate and private equity M&A decision makers done by KPMG (one of the big four accounting firms). The key findings are interesting, particularly the barriers, strategies, impact of changes in credit markets and tax policies, and the use of generative AI in M&A deals and analysis.
You have a choice on how to go with this week’s discussion. Either take on the topic of boutique vs. “old-line” investment banks, how the M&A market has changed (based on one or more of the topics highlighted in the KPMG summary) or discuss a particular M&A deal that has closed in the last 6 months or is currently in progress.
If you go with either the boutique vs. old-line investment bank or new trends in M&A, you will need to be specific in your discussion and have appropriate supporting facts from a news article, company press release, etc. If you happen to work in an industry this is directly involved, that’s great, but you still need a public outside source to cite in your post.
If you go with a specific M&A deal: What is the company and what type of deal was completed or in the works? Discuss the industry and background on the firm. What changes might have happened to the firm or the deal in the months immediately before or after the deal? What is interesting about the company or the deal? What was (or might be) the synergies/motivation for the acquisition? As with all of the discussions in this course, I am not expecting a quantitative analysis!! If specifics of the deal are available and help support your discussion, go for it.
This is a wide-open discussion, but as always, you need solid supporting evidence from at least one outside article or company press releases.