At the mid-point of 2017 the state of M&A is mixed. Deals are in short supply, impacting the ambitions of both Corporate and Private Equity (PE) dealmakers.

There is pressure on PE management fees especially from limited partners demanding co-investment rights. A shortage of deals requires that acquirers execute due diligence so they can close faster than ever before. Acquisition professionals facing these challenges are tending to shortcut diligence practices and overly rely on financial analysis i.e. “the numbers” at the expense of a more holistic approach to evaluating the target company. Newport partners have considerable experience evaluating, executing and integrating corporate and PE transactions. Continue reading.....