Thursday, June 20, 2013 - 1:00 p.m. EDT
Was the burst in mega deal activity at the beginning of the year a barometer for overall M&A market sentiment, or are we still waiting to feel its effects in the middle market?
Coming off a Q4 lift fueled by the rush to beat year-end deadlines, middle market M&A activity paused in the first quarter. Mega deals indicate that strategic and financial buyers
are back in the market ready to deploy capital once more, so when will this momentum trickle down to the middle market?
Join us on June 20th, when, with the help of leading private equity investors, strategic acquirers and advisors, we'll be reviewing middle market deal activity
and discussing where it goes from here. What factors will drive middle market deals? The macro environment is little changed since the beginning of the year..slow growth,
low interest rates, fickle consumer and business demand and is one which many pundits forecast would lead to an upsurge in middle market deal activity.
Where will you be able to source quality deals and what will you need to be prepared to do to beat your competition but still make profitable bids? Which
valuation criteria take on an increased emphasis in the current environment? How eager will the credit markets be to lend in the next 6-12 months? What levels of equity
contributions will the market demand for deals? Above all, how will you need to adapt your strategy to benefit from the opportunities that do exist?
We'll aim to answer these and other critical questions facing middle market dealmakers as they fine-tune their strategies for the rest of 2013 into early 2014.
Expert Panel:
James D. Epstein
Partner
Pepper Hamilton LLP
James D. Epstein is a partner in the Commercial Department of Pepper Hamilton LLP. Mr. Epstein counsels boards and stockholders with respect to the full spectrum of business
transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings and other financing transactions, corporate carve-outs, joint ventures, restructurings and reorganizations, with
a particular emphasis on representing private equity firms and their portfolio companies.
Mr. Epstein has significant experience with businesses in several industry sectors, including health care and financial services, automotive assembly and supply,
telecommunications, distribution and manufacturing.
Mr. Epstein is the co-author of "Considerations for Investing in Troubled Leveraged Buy-Outs," published by Business One Irwin in Workouts & Turnarounds,
The Handbook of Restructuring and Investing in Distressed Companies, and has lectured on mergers and acquisitions for the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Continuing Legal
Education Program and the National Business Institute.
Mr. Epstein graduated from Emory University School of Law in 1983, after earning a joint Bachelor's and Master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980.
He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New York.
Bruce K. Fenton
Partner
Pepper Hamilton LLP
Bruce K. Fenton is a partner in the Commercial Department of Pepper Hamilton LLP. He serves as secretary of the Pepper partnership and is a former member
of the firm's Executive Committee. Mr. Fenton concentrates his practice in private equity transactions. His practice includes mergers and acquisitions and the related
financing, as well as securities and general corporate counseling, both domestically and internationally. He also structures and documents limited liability companies,
partnerships and joint ventures.
Mr. Fenton is an adjunct professor at Temple University School of Law, where he teaches a class on U.S.-international business planning.
He has written the text for a seminar on the differences between partnerships and joint ventures, and he has lectured on limited liability companies
and limited liability partnerships. He also has published on the subject of boundary laws and disputes.
Mr. Fenton was selected for inclusion on the 2012 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list.
Mr. Fenton serves as executive vice chair of the board of councilors of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, one of the oldest historical societies in America.
