M&A STORIES - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Feb 11 2024 14

M&A STORIES - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Podcast artwork

These M&A War Stories podcasts are for anyone engaged in M&A or Divestment activity. Every week your hosts Robert Heaton & Toby Tester, along with special podcast guests, will draw on their past M&A experience through case studies and what hopefully will prove to be interesting stories. By chipping in with our own thoughts and experiences our aim is that all of us professionally involved in M&A – CEOs, CFOs, Executives, Consultants and Advisors, get that little bit better next time round.

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HIGH SPEED AI vs CUMBERSOME LEGAL, REGULATORY AND ETHICAL DEVELOPMENTS

Feb 11 2024 32 mins

In recent weeks Rob and Toby have veered slightly off the M&A topic to explore the emerging world of AI and how it might shake up M&A as we know it. In doing that we've arrived at the challenges of adopting adequate regulatory and ethical controls for AI and never mind the slow cumbersome legal system and how that might cope with AI.The key point is that AI needs globa

THE URGENCY FOR ETHICAL AND REGULATORY CONTROLS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Jan 24 2024 29 mins

Robert and Toby have been clamping at the bit to start talking about the need for strong ethics, regulatory and legal instruments to manage and control the global adoption of AI.There's no doubt about it. AI has the equal potential to cause untold harm, and the scandal playing out with the UK Post Office is a stark reminder of how ethics can be completely railroaded. That is w

WILL THERE BE AN AI DRIVEN M&A WAVE - SOONER OR LATER?

Jan 17 2024 31 mins

This week, the Dynamic Duo of Robert and Toby ponder on whether AI will drive a new wave of AI-influenced M&A transactions - or not. Certainly, 2023 has seen a 40% downturn in M&A volume globally so what evidence is there that AI will offer a stimulus and create a new wave of transactions?It's not a simple question to answer because AI is still in its infancy, but adop

WHAT ROLE SHOULD AI PLAY IN THE M&A PROCESS

Jan 07 2024 29 mins

Robert and Toby continue to delve into the topic of AI and in this episode, we start to examine how AI is or will impact each of the typical M&A processes. As the duo walk through the process from Deal Sourcing to Due Diligence and then into Legal Contracts and Valuation it becomes clear that AI is already playing a strong role in some aspects of M&A. But equally, there are

TRYING TO DEFINE AI IN ALL ITS GUISES - THREAT OR BENEFIT - OPTIMISM OR WORRY

Nov 16 2023 25 mins

In the last episode, the dynamic duo (Rob and Toby) started to talk about the emergence of AI, and this week, we continued the conversation to try and put some definition to AI. And we also tried (but failed) to stay grounded and not get dragged into the stratosphere around AI.Anyway, this week's podcast was more serious than others as we sub-categorised AI into Machine Learni

M&A TOOLS - ARE WE ABOUT TO EXPERIENCE A MASSIVE LEAP FORWARD?

Nov 06 2023 25 mins

Robert and Toby often get together like old men on a park bench, to discuss a variety of topics. Some of them become podcasts, others don't. And sometimes one topic sparks a discussion on something different. That was the case recently when the dynamic duo was trying to get their heads around AI and what impact it is/will have on the world of M&A. It was from that discussi

M&A PIRATES AND BURIED TREASURE

Nov 01 2023 25 mins

There is one certainty in life and that is if you choose any metaphor, Toby Tester can link it to M&A, and he doesn't even blink.In today's podcast, Toby manages to draw a distinction between the behavioral characteristics of pirates of old and those of several modern-day corporate heavyweights such as Rupert Murdoch, Elon Musk, and Lord Hansen. Toby's view is th

IN THE BEGINNING - WHERE DID M&A START?

Oct 23 2023 27 mins

To start with a tongue in cheek disclaimer: If we've offended any Corporate Lawyers or Investment Bankers in the recording of this podcast, we did so with gusto and enjoyed having a dig at your expense :-) But enough of that. When and where did the term M&A originate?We use the term M&A freely as part of everyday language, but when and where did it all start. Our dasta

They're Back! THE DEADLY DUE HAVE RETURNED FROM THEIR ENFORCED HIATUS

Oct 14 2023 16 mins

Just when you thought it was safe. Just when enough time had elapsed that you thought the future was safe and secure - - - THEY'RE BACK!Yes, after a hiatus of 12 months, the deadly duo of Robert Heaton and Toby Tester have returned to their popular podcast with even more M&A Stories.Today's episode is just an introduction to give you a flavour of what we will talk abo

THE TOP FIVE POST DEAL QUESTIONS FOR ANY CEO

Feb 02 2023 21 mins

It's the first podcast for 2023 from your hosts Rob and Toby and in this episode, Toby focuses on the top 5 post-close questions a CEO needs to ask on any deal. But before we start let's put the CEO's task into perspective. He's just spent the best part of last year focused on the deal, the constant back-and-forth conversations, the massive efforts around due di