Jeremie originally started his career at Goldman Sachs and spent time in investment banking focused on equities, equity sales, and trading. He has experience on both sides of M&A, as an acquirer and “acquiree,” and says the deals he has seen in the past 10 years – some successful, others not – have changed his perspective on M&A.

0:00 – 2:12 Jeremie’s background in SaaS and investment banking

2:13 – 5:52 The value of focusing on giving in M&A transactions

5:53 – 11:40 Importance of pre-diligence diligence

11:41 - 14:12 Example of a deal not closed

14:13 – 15:50 Allocating resources and labor pool decisions

15:51 – 19:14 Advantages of quick integration

19:15 – 25:29 Painful lessons

25:30 – 30:57 How to use advisors

30:58 – 36: 11 How to pick a banker

36:12 – 41:33 Differences and clashes in culture

41:34 – 46:27 Setting up a deal framework

46:28 – 51:05 Facilitating good communication

51:06 – 52:22 Importance of prioritization

52:23 – 54:54 Lessons learned

M&A Science by Kison Patel (kison@dealroom.net)

DealRoom: Data Science and AI for M&A (www.dealroom.net)

Matt Gambs is very familiar with the community banking realm – he’s been in it for more than 23 years and has worked every angle of the business, starting as a teller and working his way up to President and CEO of two different community banks in the Chicago metro area: BB&T Bancorp and Diamond Bank. He led both banks through successful acquisitions before landing at his current role with Wintrust Financial.

0:00 – 0:53 Summary of Matt Gambs 23+ year career progression in community banking

0:54 – 3:44 Discussing growth of BB&T between company inception and becoming CEO in 2004

3:45 – 6:47 The process of deciding to sell BB&T and selecting an advisor

6:48 – 8:24 How buyers’ proposals were evaluated against goals for stockholders

8:25 – 11:24 The selection process for comparing valuations and choosing the final buyer

11:25 – 13:24 Discussing challenges and realizations as Matt’s first deal of this size

13:25 – 18:02 Dissecting why everyone seems to want to buy a bank and regulatory implications

18:03 – 22:16 Events leading to Matt joining Diamond Bank and its subsequent sale

22:17 – 25:53 The long start-to-finish process of selling Diamond Bank

25:54 – 28:54 Highlights of working with Wintrust on the Diamond Bank deal

28:55 – 33:26 Biggest challenges and lessons learned going through both bank exits

33:27 – 36:25 Comparing shareholder relationships of different sizes

36:26 – 39:34 Craziest thing Matt has seen in all his banking experience

M&A Science by Kison Patel (kison@dealroom.net)

DealRoom: Data Science and AI for M&A (www.dealroom.net)