Will M&A always be a good field?

Will M&A always be a good field?

Given that M&A is really a recent phenomena of the late 80's to early 2000's, does the M&A profession have the staying power of law/medicine? Sometimes I feel like it is a faddish skill-set that is not worth devoting one's life in developing. Thoughts?

 
Best Response

I think M&A will always have a role in a developed economy - you're essentially a strategic and valuation consultant. The profession existed before the 1980's, but advances in computing technology made it more standardized and narrowly defined. The biggest corporates will have their own in-house M&A teams (Corp Dev or whatever they want to call them), but most companies can't afford that and it wouldn't be efficient given how infrequently they engage in M&A, thus, M&A advisory firms will always have a role to play. If anything, I think true strategic M&A advisory may have more sticking power than niche/fad investment advisory practices (the boom in PE is really a reaction to ultra cheap debt and the manipulated market force of being able to expense interest on debt pre-tax).

Just my $0.02

 

There's a good analysis pointing out that many of the things we consider 'tech' today should actually be classified as some other industry even though the entrepreneurs use tech/innovation to drive their business model. An example would be Tesla should be under the automotive sector.. SolarCity should be under energy, and Internet should be under consumer

There are plenty of changes and I'm sure that whatever coverage area pursued will continue to be 'important'

Refer here: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/blog/the-aging-of-the-tech-sector-the-pr…

 

If you're talking about just being an M&A guy going forward then yes, I think it's a good field to get into, especially if you can carve out a niche (medical devices M&A guy, etc.) but that goes for anything.

If you're talking about the skills you get in M&A, then again, I think it's a good field to start in or have a stint in. It teaches you valuation, negotiation, how management / PE's think, and how the whole thing comes together. If you want to be in an investing role or an exec, I think these skills are helpful.

 

It will always be a good field. with liquor and cheeseburgers as far as the eye can see, plenty of room to grow weed plants (in trailers or outdoors), and ladies of the night free to roam, there is little reason to leave

I AM THE LIQUOR
 

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Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 

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