The M&A Moment

In this episode of The M&A Moment, I talk with Rick Climan, a partner at Weil, Gotshal and Manges, LLP, about year to date mergers and acquisition numbers, recent deals involving San Francisco Bay Area companies and the mechanics of launching an M&A deal from the seller’s perspective of a publicly traded company.
On the day that this show was recorded, Rick’s company was involved with a $28 Billion takeover of CR Bard by Becton-Dickinson. Rick couldn’t discuss much about that but, he does review some of the publicly available information about another recent deal his firm was involved in, PetSmart’s $3.35 Billion acquisition of Chewy.com.
Rick and I discuss MaxLiner’s (NYSE: MXL) $660Million takeover of the Bay Area’s Exar Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAR). This deal was of interest to me because MaxLinear’s CEO, Kishore Seendripu, was a classmate of mine at Wharton.
Finally, as mentioned, we take an in-depth look at the “mating dance” of M&A from the seller’s perspective. We look at why sellers pursue M&A as a strategy and how they begin the process of setting the value of their firms and making prospective buyers aware of their desire to sell.
This episode was recorded during my Bay Area Ventures show on SiriusXM Channel 111 Business Radio Powered by the Wharton School on April 24, 2017. Be sure to check out my Bay Area Ventures show here on Spreaker or on my website www.donaldlandwirth.com. For more information on Rick Climan you can go to www.weil.com/people/richard-climan or go to www.MandAMoment.com.

In this episode of The M&A Moment, I talk with Rick Climan, a partner at Weil, Gotshal and Manges, LLP, about world-wide and San Francisco Bay Area mergers and acquisitions for the first quarter of 2017.
In technology M&A, we look at Intel’s acquisition of Mobileye for $15 billion and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise’s purchase of Nimble Storage for $1 billion. We also look at the volume of global M&A in terms of both overall dollar value and the number of deals taking place in the first quarter of 2017. We look at trends in the currency of mergers and acquisitions whether it be cash or stock and then, we look at what lies ahead for the rest of 2017.
Finally, we take an in-depth look at the “mating dance” of M&A from the buyer’s perspective. We look at why buyers pursue M&A as a strategy and how they implement that strategy from selecting a target to initiating the negotiations. As an aside, next month we’ll take a look at the process from the target company’s perspective, so be sure to check back here, for that.
This episode was recorded during my Bay Area Ventures show on SiriusXM Channel 111 Business Radio Powered by the Wharton School on March 27, 2017. Be sure to check out my Bay Area Ventures show page here on Spreaker or on my website www.donaldlandwirth.com. For more information on Rick Climan you can go to www.weil.com/people/richard-climan or go to www.MandAMoment.com.

In this episode of the M&A Moment, Rick Climan of Weil, Gotshal and Manges, LLP, joins me to look at how the year 2017 is starting off in the Mergers and Acquisitions arena. We discuss the dollar volume for January 2017 and how that compares to the same period in 2016. We then discuss whether or not the January figures are a good indicator of how the whole year will fare.
The year started off with a couple high flying tech companies being purchased for a fraction of their peak valuations and look at how that might portend for the so call “unicorns” – privately held companies valued over $1 billion. January was also a month where the US government blocked two very large deals that were announced in 2015. Rick talks about those deals and how the Trump administration may or may not act in similar situations going forward. We end the conversation by talking about one very large deal just announced where the target company was simultaneously pursuing an IPO and an acquisition.
All this plus Rick’s usual analysis of the legal, financial and strategic thinking behind the M&A markets and these specific deals.
This episode was recorded during my Bay Area Ventures show on SiriusXM Channel 111 Business Radio Powered by the Wharton School on February 13, 2017. Be sure to check out my Bay Area Ventures show page here on Spreaker or on my website www.donaldlandwirth.com. For more information on Rick Climan you can go to www.weil.com/people/richard-climan or go to www.MandAMoment.com.

In this special extended addition of the M&A Moment we take a look back at the highlights and final numbers for the year 2016. We will also take a look ahead at what 2017 might hold in store. Rick Climan of www.weil.com joins me to talk about how 2016 compared to 2015 and discusses some of the biggest deals announced, as well as some of the biggest deals to crater in 2016. Not only does Rick tell us the numbers but he gives us tremendous insights into what’s behind all the strategy, negotiation and legal decisions that led to the results.
2016 was a stellar year but, was it as strong as 2016? Will 2017 be stronger still? What sectors had the most activity? How did US activity compare to global M&A. Were US companies an attractive target for foreign investment and, if so, what countries were the biggest investors? How will the Donald Trump administration impact US and foreign M&A transactions going forward? Will CFIUS reviews be stepped up and will cybercrime or information leaks impact any major deals?
Rick and I cover all of this and take calls from listeners, as well. It’s a jam packed episode that will be invaluable for your understanding of M&A and your decision making going forward.
This episode was recorded during my Bay Area Ventures show on SiriusXM Channel 111 Business Radio Powered by the Wharton School on January 23, 2017. Be sure to check out my Bay Area Ventures show page here on Spreaker or on my website www.donaldlandwirth.com. For more information on Rick Climan you can go to www.weil.com/people/richard-climan or go to www.MandAMoment.com.

In this, the final M&A Moment for 2016 Rick Climan of www.weil.com joins me to talk about the recent Golden Gate Capital acquisition of Neustar Inc. (NYSE: NSR) signaling a continued resurgence of private equity firms making financial acquisitions in 2016. This deal is interesting because of some of the foreign capital involved in the deal, as well, which will mandate careful review by US’ Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). CFIUS also comes into play as Rick discusses President Obama’s veto of a proposed merger of the German semiconductor company Aixtron by a Chinese company Fujian Grand Chip based on national security concerns. It an unusual reach for a US president to get involved in a CFIUS matter.
We also take a brief look at 2016 as a whole but will be doing a full review of M&A Activity for 2016 and will be taking a look ahead at trends and prospects for 2017 on our next episode which will be an extend addition.
For more information on Rick Climan you can go to www.weil.com/people/richard-climan or go to www.MandAMoment.com.