CORPORATE FINANCE –
M&A
BY: LYNN STRONGIN DODDS • PROFILES BY: SUSANNA ROBINSON; STUART NEWMAN
C
orporate fi nance has always been seen as one of the Th e fi gures speak for themselves. Scarce credit coupled
most glamorous ends of the business, and while this is with a stalling economy and a bear stock market has meant
still the case, fl ow is slower this year for obvious that the total value of global merger and acquisition (M&A)
reasons. Th e headline grabbing transactions are far and few deals in the fi rst half of 2008 dropped 31% to $1.87 trillion,
between but bankers are being kept busy on smaller scale compared to $2.69 trillion in the same period last year,
deals as well as in specialist areas such as life sciences or according to analytics fi rm Dealogic. Europe was the hardest
renewable energy. hit, registering a fall of 39% to $645.2 billion from $1.07
As Mark O’Reilly, associate partner at Astbury Marsden, trillion in the fi rst six months of 2007. Meanwhile, activity in
points out, “At the moment there is no appetite from the the US slumped 30% to $694.3 billion, while Asia Pacifi c
larger investment banks to underwrite the big ticket deals. remained a bright spot with a 5% hike to $390.7 billion. Th e
As a result, we are seeing some corporate fi nanciers moving poor performance took its toll on advisory fees, with deal
down to the second tier banks which are more profi table. advisers’ revenue decreasing 25% from last year’s lofty levels.
Th ey are doing deals although they are at the smaller end of Whether big or small, though, those toiling away in M&A
the spectrum.” will be expected to put in the long hours and be on call
MATTHEW ANDRADE, CFA
Title: Assistant Director, M&A
Current employer: Ernst & Young
How do you think the role you’re in now will change over time?
University: Mount Allison University,
The oil and gas sector has been the subject of increasing interest
Canada
over the past few years and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable
Degrees: Bachelors in Commerce
future. National oil companies are increasingly bypassing their
Professional qualifi cations:
former partners of the integrated oil companies and are going
CFA; member of CFA Institute’s straight to the oilfi eld services companies for help in the extraction
Disciplinary Review Committee;
of the resources, leading to a global search for the best techniques.
former board member of the Calgary
CFA Society
This globalisation will be the biggest change in my role, as
increasingly clients are doing deals outside of their home
jurisdictions. I view my role evolving from simply assisting clients
with deals to becoming a partner with them whose advice is trusted
What attracted you to this career path?
as the experience I’ve gained in doing deals across multiple
The chance to work with global clients on deals that have the
geographies becomes more relevant in their global expansion.
chance to change companies’ futures.
Do you have advice for someone intending to pursue the same
What are the major challenges you face in your position?
career path?
Finding and retaining talented staff, cultural differences on
The CFA charter has been the most valuable step in my career.
cross-border deals.
Although hard to attain, I would encourage anyone who is thinking of
a career in investment banking to start the program as soon as
Are there certain skills you would consider useful for your job?
possible. While both the program and the career can be diffi cult and
An ability to see an issue from many sides is helpful in
contain many long hours, the rewards are worth the effort. Seek out a
negotiating through tricky parts of transactions. A positive
‘personal board of directors’ who you can turn to for guidance or
attitude in the face of adversity is critical, as well as a good sense
advice and maintain those relationships over time. Above all else,
of humour. Technical competence is assumed, but being ‘street
there is a right and a wrong way to conduct business – if you do things
smart’ is also very valuable.
ethically you’ll be surprised where help will come from in the future.
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