Mergers and acquisitions have caused corporations to change their names in the past few years faster than one can say "DaimlerChrysler." At a conference that the Wharton Management Club sponsored last Friday, several corporate executives and business leaders who have played an active role in company mergers were on hand to share their experiences with about 70 Penn students in Vance and Steinberg-Dietrich halls. "Many students come to Wharton knowing they want to do mergers and acquisitions and investment banking, but they don't know what it entails," conference chairperson and Wharton sophomore Janice Yu said. "We wanted to expose students to areas of investment banking and mergers and acquisitions in the telecommunications, insurance, biotechnology and financial sectors," she added. Yu pointed to the recent growth rate in mergers and acquisitions despite problematic financial markets in East Asia, Russia and other international locations. Executives from deal-making firms like Goldman Sachs offered a financial sector perspective on mergers, while top officials from newly merged firms like MCI Worldcom, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Chase Securities and Citigroup explained why their firms merged. "It's not just a change in capital structure -- it has got to be a change that increases the value of your firm," said 1991 Wharton graduate Mark Feldman, vice president of global mergers and acquisitions for Chase Securities. And 1974 Wharton graduate and Travelers Group chief executive officer Jay Fishman cautioned that the recent trend of corporate mergers "is not a business strategy," but is instead "a reflection on changes in the business environment." Globalization, increased competition and the increased speed in relaying information have made these mergers more pronounced, Fishman said, explaining why his company merged with Citicorp in April 1998 in what was considered the largest merger at the time. Citigroup is now the 12th largest corporation and the third largest business insurance firm in the world, according to Fishman. Other executives pointed to the need for additional resources and increased market share, since clients now require a greater breadth and depth of services than they have in the past. Still, all of the executives were quick to point out that the transition isn't always smooth. "The biggest problem of a merger is changing the [rigid] mindset of 'we used to do this but they do it like that,'" said Duross O'Bryan, a top partner in the financial services division of PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Seven months into [our merger with Coopers & Lybrand] and that's still a cultural issue that is hard to get over," O'Bryan said. In addition to having to lay off workers as his company downsized after merging, Fishman related some of the problems his company faced. "At the very least, there are two people who hold the CEO position, and you must decide who will hold that position [in the merged company]," he said. Students gave the event positive reviews. "You hear about mergers and acquisitions every day, but unless you read The Wall Street Journal every day, you don't often see tangible results," Wharton sophomore Huijin Kong said. For College and Wharton sophomore Elizabeth LaPuma, the conference had a more practical implication by helping her decide which type of summer internship she wants. function myAdDoneFunction(spotx_ad_found) if(spotx_ad_found) else ; function mobileAndTabletcheck() var bMobile = mobileAndTabletcheck(), aScriptAttributes = [ 'type="text/javascript" src=" " data-spotx_ad_done_function="myAdDoneFunction" data-spotx_ad_unit="incontent" data-spotx_autoplay="1" data-spotx_ad_volume="0" data-spotx_loop="0" data-spotx_collapse="1" data-spotx_unmute_on_mouse="1"' ]; if (bMobile) aScriptAttributes.push('data-spotx_content_width="300"'); aScriptAttributes.push('data-spotx_content_height="250"'); aScriptAttributes.push('data-spotx_channel_id="186667"'); else aScriptAttributes.push('data-spotx_content_width="608"'); aScriptAttributes.push('data-spotx_content_height="342"'); aScriptAttributes.push('data-spotx_unmute_on_mouse="1"'); aScriptAttributes.push('data-spotx_channel_id="186773"'); document.write(''); PennConnects /* * * CONFIGURATION VARIABLES: EDIT BEFORE PASTING INTO YOUR WEBPAGE * * */var disqus_shortname = 'dailypennsylvanian'; // required: replace example with your forum shortnamevar disqus_identifier = 'cf423059-eb55-4318-b933-99fbcb271d1f';var disqus_url = ' _executives_talk_mergers_and_acquisitions_at_conference';/* * * DON'T EDIT BELOW THIS LINE * * */(function() var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text/javascript'; dsq.async = true;dsq.src = ' + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/embed.js';(document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] )();Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Comments powered by DisqusPlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
In partnership with the Association for Corporate Growth Dallas-Fort Worth, D CEO is pleased to once again honor top mergers and acquisitions in North Texas and the dealmakers who make them happen through the Mergers & Acquisitions Awards program.
Mergers And Acquisitions And Basketball.
The student will write a 10-12 page research paper on a topic that is relative to mergers and acquisition theories. The paper must follow current APA format and utilize at least 5 scholarly resources.
The program honors top mergers and acquisitions deals, and the dealmakers behind them, in Dallas-Fort Worth. All finalists will be celebrated at an exclusive awards event and profiled in the May issue of D CEO.
Brendan focuses his practice on counseling private equity funds and their portfolio companies, corporations and other business owners on structuring and negotiating complex business transactions including leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, controlling and non-controlling equity investments and recapitalizations. Brendan has led numerous transactions in a variety of industries with transaction sizes ranging from less than $100 million to more than $3 billion. Brendan also has significant experience representing private equity sponsors and senior management teams in connection with a broad range of employment and incentive equity arrangements.
Even Intro to Business class students can explain the economics: mergers provide an easy way to expand an enrollment base, diversify programs, and achieve higher efficiencies of scale. M&A is an increasingly common tactic:
Kurt P. Spurgeon joined Lane & Waterman in 2011 and focuses primarily on Corporate & Transactional Law, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate and limited liability company formation and governance, commercial real estate transactions, general corporate and contractual matters, and various non-profit organizational matters. In addition, Kurt advises clients in environmental, eminent domain, healthcare, and brewery and distillery law matters.
Alan Goodman is a partner in the New Orleans office. While his good name and reputation are known nationally in the Chapter 11 and commercial litigation practice areas, Best Lawyers in America has recognized him in not only those two practice areas but also in the practice areas of mergers and acquisitions, distressed M&A, class actions, product liability, and real estate litigation. Alan was selected by City Business Newspaper for the Legal Hall of Fame in 2022 and has likewise been recognized by other publications for his broad experience in many practice areas.
Peter counsels clients in matters involving business succession, ownership and management issues, contracts, contract disputes, domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, real estate purchases, construction and development, recapitalization, sales, leasing, financing (representing both lenders and borrowers) and like-kind exchanges. His practice also includes matters involving cybersecurity, energy law involving oil and gas leasing and related business transactions, renewable energy, environmental law, and computer and intellectual property law. 2ff7e9595c
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