While we’re still arguably in a period rife with challenges, there seems to be a more positive sentiment forming — not enough that everyone in the M&A environment is happy, but maybe enough to signal that the deal market is ready to turn the page.
At the inaugural D.C. Capital Region Smart Business Dealmakers Conference, Debbie Ricci of Guidehouse, Don Bassell formerly of ARKO Corp, Alex Shahidi of Riveron and Chris O’Geen of Wells Fargo, on a panel moderated by Riveron’s Robert Berdanier, explore today’s market conditions and what it all means for executives looking to get deals done. Here’s an excerpt:
“The traditional rule of thumb about an M&A deal is a four to six month process. We're definitely seeing that process extended. I think buyers are doing more diligence than they have before. But I would just say that the overall environment, from our perspective, is much better than it was six months ago. I mean, when Debbie (Ricci, CFO of Guidehouse) was trying to get her deal done, it was a challenging financing market. Now we've got a really strong public equity market, a very well-functioning leveraged finance market — be it either high yield or term loan B or traditional commercial bank pro rata market, those markets are really good. And I think a lot of strategic CEOs feel really good about their businesses right now. And if you look at, over time, M&A levels are really driven by CEO confidence, and CEO confidence is really high right now. So, we're seeing a lot of strategic interest in the businesses that we take to market.” - Chris O'Geen, Managing Director | Mid-Cap Investment Banking, Wells Fargo
You can catch the full panel discussion on the podcast.
