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O P I N I O N
Don’t over-analyze Remember, thinkers and modelers, there is plenty of time to get to the bottom of whatever pressing issue we are facing.
I ’m an analytical person by nature. I am in a committed relationship with Microsoft Excel and can find a way to model most decisions if given enough time. “Enough time,” however, means enough time to help a client or colleague make an important decision with limited information on a deadline of yesterday. It is hard for us over- thinkers to make snap decisions, but it’s also a job requirement for any leader, and especially for any leader engaged in mergers and acquisitions.
Jamie Claire Kiser
The dividing line between firms that do well in M&A and firms that do not could possibly be drawn at the informational threshold. Although “I have learned that time is the enemy in M&A. The longer we spend scrutinizing the details before we talk about value and the future, the more we risk overlooking the big picture and finding some reason not to close a deal.”
I have learned that time is the enemy in M&A. The longer we spend scrutinizing the details before we talk about value and the future, the more we risk overlooking the big picture and finding some reason not to close a deal. No firm is perfect, and no M&A transaction is without the exposure of some weaknesses in one (or both!) sides of the discussion. In my experience, there is a correlation between how quickly we can agree to a value (or even agree to an approach to valuation), and a theoretical deal structure and the likelihood that we will get to the closing table. That idea is counterintuitive – and downright uncomfortable – to the over-analyzers in the room. I want to have every piece of information at my disposal to make a recommendation.
See JAMIE CLAIRE KISER, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER December 12, 2016, ISSUE 1179
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