Posted on November 23, 2009 at 4:02 PM
Filed under: Inside the Deal | Integration
Tagged: Jim Rosenthal , Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

Integrating the Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Smith Barney brokerages is a massive undertaking. The joint venture brings together more than 18,000 brokers working in 1,000 offices worldwide. Morgan Stanley head of operations and technology Jim Rosenthal is leading the effort. He says the biggest undertaking is building a new IT...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 11, 2009 at 4:00 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Inside the Deal
Tagged: Horizontal Merger Guidelines , Michael Cohen , Paul Hastings

The M&A landscape has changed dramatically since the rules governing merger reviews were adopted in 1992. That's one reason why the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are reviewing the Horizontal Merger Guidelines. As Michael Cohen, an antitrust partner with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, writes...  Continue reading

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Posted on October 30, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Filed under: Inside the Deal | Middle market
Tagged: Harris Williams & Co. , Inside the Deal , Jeff Bistrong , middle market , technology

Banks have spent nearly two years downsizing through workforce reductions and other cost-cutting measures. Now many are turning to technology to further drive efficiency and to help maintain service levels. That in turn is attracting a variety of investors to financial services technology, or fintech, firms with the tools to...  Continue reading

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Posted on October 28, 2009 at 12:37 PM
Filed under: Inside the Deal | Middle market
Tagged: Inside the Deal , Jeff Bistrong , middle market , technology

The technology M&A marketplace is set for a rebound, driven by a convergence of higher stock prices and a willingness among buyers to "loosen the purse strings" after months of cash conservation. So says Jeff Bistrong, managing director with the middle-market-focused investment bank Harris Williams & Co. In this edition...  Continue reading

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Posted on October 20, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Filed under: Inside the Deal
Tagged: Cory Lipoff , Hilco Merchant Resources , Inside the Deal , M&A , retail

Fewer retailers are filing for bankruptcy than in the first half of 2009. That's what Cory Lipoff, a vice president with the strategic advisory and reorganization firm Hilco Merchant Resources LLC told us in this interview. For those retailers already in bankruptcy, however, the ability to reorganize is more difficult...  Continue reading

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Posted on October 16, 2009 at 8:15 AM
Filed under: Inside the Deal
Tagged: Cory Lipoff , Hilco Merchant Resources , Inside the Deal

After a rash of high-profile retail bankruptcies in the first half of 2009, the number of filings has slowed. "It's been quiet," says Cory Lipoff, executive vice president with the strategic advisory and reorganization firm Hilco Merchant Resources. In this edition of Inside The Deal, Lipoff says many retailers have...  Continue reading

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Posted on October 6, 2009 at 7:00 AM
Filed under: Inside the Deal
Tagged: Berkery Noyes , Inside the Deal , Joseph Berkery , M&A

The lack of credit available to buyers remains a big deterrent to M&A. But the inflated price expectations of many sellers is as big an obstacle, says Joseph Berkery, founder of the investment bank Berkery Noyes & Co. LLC. In this edition of Inside The Deal, Berkery says, "Prices are...  Continue reading

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Posted on October 1, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Filed under: Inside the Deal
Tagged: Berkery Noyes , Inside the Deal , investment banking , Joseph Berkery , M&A

Joseph Berkery has lived through his share of M&A cycles. The difference between the present downturn and similar slowdowns, according to the founder of investment bank Berkery Noyes & Co. LLC, is this one is "deeper and shorter." In this edition of Inside The Deal, Berkery says the rebounding stock...  Continue reading

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Posted on September 17, 2009 at 9:09 AM
Filed under: Inside the Deal
Tagged: CBS Corp. , CNET Network Inc. , Decade of The Deal , Morgan Stanley , Rob Kindler

Among the jolts the M&A market has absorbed since 1999 is a dramatic increase in shareholder activism. But it's not just notable investors such as Carl Icahn, Daniel Loeb, Warren Lichtenstein and T. Boone Pickens -- who've been at it for decades -- agitating for change. These days, it's more...  Continue reading

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Posted on September 16, 2009 at 10:55 AM
Filed under: Deal International | Inside the Deal
Tagged: Carla Zilka , Inside the Deal , NexGen Advisors , restructuring

Investing in an emerging market is almost always daunting. It's even more so in an economy as volatile as the present one. Still, Carla Zilka, founder of the global restructuring firm NexGen Advisors LLC, says for strategic and financial investors with the capital to do so, now is a good...  Continue reading

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