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M&A Science

M&A Science, hosted by Kison Patel (Founder & CEO of DealRoom), is your go-to podcast for mastering the art of mergers and acquisitions. Each week, Kison and his expert guests from leading brands like Xerox, FastLap, and Cisco dig deep into real-world M&A strategies, offering actionable insights to optimize your M&A practice. Whether you're an experienced practitioner or new to the field, M&A Science provides practical advice on key topics like sourcing, due diligence, integration, divestitures, and more. With over 300 episodes, this podcast is the premier thought leadership resource designed to streamline your deal-making process. Start listening today and visit mascience.com/podcast to access over 300 episodes. Brought to you by DealRoom, the leading M&A optimization platform used by the best M&A teams around the world
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Now displaying: March, 2024
Mar 25, 2024

George Kellerman, VP, Head of Investments & Acquisitions at Woven by Toyota and Alexander Baum, Corporate Development Lead at Woven by Toyota

In the ever-evolving world of business, staying ahead isn't just about what a company does today, but how it prepares for tomorrow. This is where a venture capital arm comes into play. It is a specialized division within a larger company that focuses on investing in emerging startups and innovative projects. 

In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, George Kellerman, VP, Head of Investments & Acquisitions at Woven by Toyota, and Alexander Baum, Corporate Development Lead at Woven by Toyota, share their experience on how to stand up a venture capital arm. 

Things you will learn:

• How did Woven by Toyota got started

• Successfully start a venture capital arm

• Leadership in managing people

• Biggest Lessons Learned

• Dealing with cultural difference

This episode is brought to you by the M&A Science Spring Summit 2024 happening on April 10th at 10AM ET. It's your chance to join leading M&A experts as they share innovative and the latest trends from their own deals. Save your spot here.

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Episode Bookmarks

*George Kellerman

00:00 Intro

06:15 From firefighter to M&A

09:49 How did Woven by Toyota got started

11:19 Project Kate

12:58 Pitching the shift in strategy

14:31 Woven Capital’s strategy

16:48 How to successfully start a venture capital arm

19:45 Leadership in managing people

22:03 Biggest lessons learned

26:00 A change in strategy

27:04 The Woven City Project

31:11 Dealing with cultural difference

35:40 Craziest thing in M&A

*Alex Baum

39:34 Noticing cultural differences in Japan

42:11 Relocating to Tokyo

44:07 New York vs Japan culture

45:28 Work culture in Japan

48:32 Rubber stamp approval in Japan

49:51 Balancing American and Japanese culture

51:27 Maintaining alignment

52:09 Craziest thing in M&A

 

Mar 18, 2024

Camilo Franco, Director, M&A Integration and Operations at Jamf

There is an intimate tie between M&A strategy and corporate strategy. To be truly effective, acquisitions must directly support the overarching goal of the company. But beyond that, there needs to be a strategic alignment with everyone involved. 

In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Camilo Franco, Director, M&A Integration and Operations at Jamf, shares their secrets on how to achieve strategic alignment from top to bottom. 

Things you will learn:

• How to achieve strategic alignment

• Strategies for effectively communicating M&A plans

• Tools used to maintain alignment

• Connecting diligence and Integration

• Advice for integration practitioners

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This episode is brought to you by the M&A Science Spring Summit 2024 happening on April 10th at 10AM ET. It's your chance to join leading M&A experts as they share innovative and the latest trends from their own deals. Save your spot here.

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Episode Bookmarks

00:00 Intro

08:45 Definition of strategic alignment

10:31 How to achieve strategic alignment

12:51 Relaying M&A strategy against corporate strategy

13:54 Getting buy-in from team members

15:37 Overcoming anti-M&A culture

18:44 Strategies for effectively communicating M&A plans

21:21 Alignment with the integration team

23:51 Formulating the integration thesis

26:37 Role of steering committee

28:04 Communicating decisions with the broader organization

29:30 Managing integration without IMO

32:09 Ensuring company readiness for integration

34:11 Gauging M&A readiness

36:06 Side effects of burnout people

37:25 Defining the end of integration

39:30 Tools used to maintain alignment

43:32 Agile M&A

44:46 Connecting diligence and integration

48:13 Using integration templates

50:36 Advice for integration p

 

Mar 13, 2024

Ken Bond, Head of Corporate Development at Cetera Financial Group.

Most of the biggest M&A failures of all time are caused by culture clashes. Both companies cannot simply co-exist with each other, and instead of creating more value, they destroyed both of their businesses. This is why cultural due diligence is crucial in M&A. 

In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Ken Bond, Head of Corporate Development at Cetera Financial Group, shares his expertise on how to perform cultural due diligence to better understand the target company.

Things you will learn:

• The person responsible for cultural due diligence

• Executing cultural due diligence

• Using Playbooks

• Successful partnership between Corporate Development and Integration

• Advice for practitioners

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This episode is sponsored by the DealRoom

Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at www.dealroom.net.

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Episode Bookmarks

00:00 Intro

05:11 Person responsible for cultural due diligence

05:54 Importance of cultural due diligence

08:08 Executing cultural due diligence

10:29 Killing the deal due to cultural conflict

14:54 Using Playbooks

17:31 Cultural due diligence during early conversations

20:12 Understanding how the target company makes decisions

22:40 Things to look for during due diligence

25:09 Using questionnaires for cultural due diligence

27:08 Bilateral deal vs. Auction process

30:10 Hardest part of cultural due diligence

32:27 Successful partnership between Corporate Development and Integration

35:33 Subculture due diligence

37:07 Advice for practitioners

38:31 Craziest thing in M&A

 

Mar 11, 2024

Baljit Singh, Former SVP, Global Head of Corporate Development at Nielsen Ventures

Engaging in M&A activities just for the sake of doing them is one of the biggest reasons for failed deals. Without a well-defined purpose, these transactions can distract the business and waste massive amounts of resources. 

In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Baljit Singh, Former SVP, Global Head of Corporate Development at Nielsen Ventures, discusses the importance of strategic alignment between M&A and corporate strategy.

Things you will learn:

• Corporate strategy vs M&A strategy

• Getting the strategy right

• Capital allocation

• Measuring business unit’s success

• Deal structure to preserve cash

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This episode is sponsored by FirmRoom. 

FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to firmroom.com

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Episode Bookmarks

00:00 Intro

05:10 Corporate strategy vs M&A strategy

09:25 Getting the strategy right

11:17 Best ways to pitch deals

13:09 Pillars of corporate strategy

15:50 Capital allocation

21:06 Measuring business unit’s success

24:52 Holding business units accountable

27:20 Why take a public company private

33:51 Steps to take a public company to private

38:11 Real life examples

48:29 Deal structure to preserve cash

54:45 Dealing with reluctant seller

59:30 Craziest thing in M&A

 

Mar 6, 2024

Douglas Barnard, former Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Legal Advisor at CF Industries (NYSE: CF)

Problems don’t usually surface at the early stages because it's the honeymoon phase. Both the buyer and the seller would like to see the deal happen, so they work together to build momentum. And often that means postponing dealing with some of the more difficult and contentious issues. However, these M&A challenges are inevitable and will arise as the deal progresses. 

In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Douglas Barnard, former Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Legal Advisor at CF Industries, discusses effective strategies to overcome M&A challenges.

Things you will learn:

• Mindset to prepare for M&A

• Overcoming M&A Challenges Between Signing and Closing

• Mitigating Post-Merger Integration Risks

• Biggest Challenges in M&A

• Advice for First-time Acquirers

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This episode is sponsored by FirmRoom.


FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to  www.firmroom.com.


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Episode Timestamps

00:00 Intro

05:26 Mindset to prepare for M&A

10:26 Strategic Negotiation Tactics

13:03 Having a Foundation of Trust and Honesty

17:31 Assessing Buyer Transparency in Deal Negotiations

20:17 Mastering Valuation and Identifying Synergies

22:43 Identifying and Overcoming Obstacles in the M&A Process

24:40 Uncovering Surprises in Due Diligence

28:53 Utilizing a Private Investigator (PI) in a Deal

29:57 Navigating Complex Negotiation Stages

33:54 Zero-Sum Scenarios in M&A Auctions

35:51 Valuation and Auction Bidding Strategies

37:57 Overcoming M&A Challenges Between Signing and Closing

41:29 Mitigating Post-Merger Integration Risks

46:16 Biggest Challenges in M&A

50:24 Advice for First-time Acquirers

52:51 Craziest thing in M&A

 

Mar 4, 2024

Allan Marks, Global Project, Energy & Infrastructure Partner at Milbank

M&A valuation isn’t just about looking at the numbers. There are a lot of different factors that affect and contribute to the volatility of the M&A market. 

In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Allan Marks, Global Project, Energy & Infrastructure Partner at Milbank, discusses how business cycles affect M&A valuation.

Things you will learn:

• What is a business cycle

• What is a credit cycle

• How business cycle impact M&A valuation

• Common Mistake during M&A valuation

• Importance of culture in M&A

This episode is sponsored by the DealRoom

Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at dealroom.net.

Episode Timestamps

00:00 Intro

11:00 What is a business cycle

12:41 What is a credit cycle

16:59 Cycle’s impact on energy sector

19:09 How business cycle impact M&A valuation

22:36 Industries most affected by the cycles

26:43 M&A valuation for first-timers

31:47 Importance of culture in M&A

34:23 When to pull of a deal

37:37 Example of failed deals

41:59 Example of good deals

45:43 Common Mistake during M&A valuation

46:43 M&A function maturity

48:02 Other early M&A considerations

49:15 Craziest thing in M&A

 

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