September 2 & 3, 2020
This prestigious annual conference assembles corporate development leaders, in-house M&A counsel, board members, and private equity investors to discuss current challenges impacting complex transactions and learn about innovative methods to improve deal performance.
The cross-disciplinary agenda draws on experienced M&A professionals from various industries and regions to share first-hand experiences, best practices, and recommendations for navigating deals through both internal and external challenges.
This conference will be streamed live online in 2020.
DAY ONE AGENDA: WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
8:55am - 9:00am
Opening remarks: William Jefferson Black, Managing Director, Finance Information Group & Publisher, Transaction Advisors
9:00am - 9:50am
M&A strategy: Shaky markets and targets The opening keynote discussion will look at the unique challenges associated with acquisitions when economic conditions are strained, the political environment is murky, and the target may be facing financial or operational distress.
10:00am - 10:50am
Strategic v. Private Equity: Competing on price and forms of consideration This lively session will provide perspective on the techniques that are commonly employed by strategic acquirers and private equity firms.
11:00am - 11:50am
Diligence methods: Accounting and beyond This session will look at challenging (virtual) diligence obligations including value capture opportunities, quality of earnings, revenue recognition practices, and compliance investigations. The participants will discuss the negotiation of specific deal terms that may be employed to address a range of diligence discoveries related to a target's value drivers.
12:00pm - 12:50pm
Human capital diligence: Operational risks This session will provide a detailed look at how effective dealmakers are now approaching human capital due diligence, on site and virtually, to identify people-related operational challenges and look at specific deal terms that may be employed to impact the future state operating model.
1:00pm - 1:50pm
Cross border joint ventures: Structuring The participants will discuss mechanisms to address regulatory, cultural, and operational considerations within the structure of the transaction.
2:00pm - 2:50pm
Negotiating risk allocation: Insurance and other mechanisms for downside protection This session will look at the increasing use of transaction insurance and also consider Covid-19 related risks and how dealmakers distinguish between insurable risks and issues that should be addressed through other mechanisms in the purchase agreement.
3:00pm - 3:50pm
Ask the M&A Leadership Council This interactive session will provide an opportunity for conference participants to ask select members of the prestigious M&A Leadership Council questions on a range of deal-related topics.
DAY TWO AGENDA: THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2020
8:55am - 9:00am
Opening remarks: William Jefferson Black, Managing Director, Finance Information Group & Publisher, Transaction Advisors
Recognition of the M&A Leadership Council
9:00am - 9:50am
Global merger control and antitrust challenges: Conglomerate risk This session will provide guidance on the shifting environment for competition reviews in the United States, Europe, and other jurisdictions. The participants will comment on specific deal terms that anticipate protectionist views and antitrust challenges associated with conglomerate risk and the merits of negotiating prospective remedies or remaining silent.
10:00am - 10:50am
Developments in deal structuring This discussion will examine current negotiation points and deal terms that may be employed to bridge gaps between buyers and sellers.
11:00am - 11:50am
Carveout transactions This session will look at the strategic and operational considerations associated with spin-off transactions including specific guidance on the disposal process including shareholder engagement, taxation, and ongoing commercial agreements.
12:00pm - 12:50pm
Keynote Interview: Market dynamics in 2020 and beyond
1:00pm - 1:50pm
Navigating regulatory hurdles: Trade and tariffs The participants will discuss a range of deal-related trade and tariff risks and consider methods for addressing these variables through merger agreement drafting and negotiations.
2:00pm - 2:50pm
Integration and change management: Stand-alone acquisitions This session will look at limited integration strategies and tactics for achieving governance for post-merger performance improvement.
3:00pm - 3:50pm
Acquisition metrics and transaction communications This in-depth review will consider the key considerations in communicating the value of a transaction to the Board, equity and debt capital markets as well as employees, customers, vendors, regulators, and local communities.
INNOVATION PARTNERS
The conference will feature a number of innovative technology and information platforms that are advancing the M&A practice:
- Intralinks provides an artificial intelligence-assisted platform to increase efficiency, reduce risk, and streamline the entire M&A process—from strategy and deal preparation through the due diligence process and post-merger Integration.
- Black Duck is a software due diligence solution for M&A that specializes in code reviews for open source and internal compliance as well as security flaws in proprietary, open source, and other third-party software.
- Knowable’s M&A offerings convert legal language into structured contract data. Their reliable portfolio-level reporting provides cross-functional stakeholders with actionable insights that improve deal outcomes.
- TMF Group is a strategic global partner providing a comprehensive back office solution to ensure all local payroll, accounting, tax and compliance transition from the TSA correctly, dovetailing into the corporate back office processes.
- Apperio is a legal spend tracking and analytics platform that provides complete clarity on legal spend in real-time.
- Aviator is a cloud-based, full-service M&A tool that simplifies the planning process among workstream teams and provides visibility and reporting against workplans and financials.
- Spend Analytics, powered by Accenture’s Applied Intelligence Platform, accelerates the identification of direct and indirect spend synergies by employing artificial intelligence to gather, consolidate, cleanse, categorize, and benchmark spend data.
- OrgVue is an organization design and headcount reduction tool that visually compares current organization design to a future design state while capturing the value of operational process efficiencies.
