50 Acquisitions and Mergers & Acquisitions For Dummies with Bill Snow

This episode was brought to you by The Magnolia Firm. Specialty M&A Business Brokerage firm helping business owners sell their company. https://exit.themagnoliafirm.co/top

Bill Snow shares his journey in the world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and provides valuable insights into the industry. He introduces himself and talks about his background, giving viewers an overview of his origin story. Bill discusses his first deal, a spin-out deal that unfortunately did not reach fruition. He then touches on the concept of valuation, emphasizing how some individuals can have overly optimistic expectations.

Bill goes on to recount his first successful deal, where he worked with a $20 million marketing company. He highlights the importance of not providing a disservice to clients or offering bad advice. The quality of earnings reports is strongly recommended by Bill, and he notes the increasing prevalence of Reps & Warranty Insurance in the industry.

Bill sheds light on how investment bankers get paid, delving into the compensation structure within the field. He then shares his perspective on the best part of the M&A job and draws parallels between negotiating in M&A and playing cards. Bill's expertise in poker and M&A is discussed, where he shares insights on winning strategies in both realms.

As the interview progresses, Bill talks about his experience in the field, revealing that he had worked on numerous deals before writing his book, "M&A for Dummies." He explains his motivations behind writing the book and addresses questions about the "For Dummies" brand and its impact.

Bill discusses the differences between the first and second editions of his book, highlighting the updates and improvements made. He then covers various topics related to M&A, such as valuations, sell-side valuations for buyers, dealing with a significant revenue concentration, and the importance of quality of earnings reports and tax considerations.

Towards the end, Bill mentions "10 Reasons Acquisitions Fail" and "10 Lurking Problems for Sellers," which are discussed in his book. These sections cover common challenges and pitfalls encountered in M&A transactions, providing valuable insights for anyone involved in the process.

Overall, Bill Snow's video provides a comprehensive overview of his experiences in the M&A industry, offering valuable advice and insights for professionals and enthusiasts alike.

SHOW NOTES:

00:00 Episode brought to you by The Magnolia Firm

00:51 Intro to Bill Snow origin story

03:43 first deal Bill worked on - spin-out deal - did not get deal done

04:34 Valuation - stars in their eyes

05:28 First successful deal working on a $20 million marketing company

06:54 disservice to client or bad advice

08:05 Quality of Earnings reports - strongly recommend

08:40 Reps & Warranty Insurance - seeing it more and more...

09:20 How an investment banker gets paid

11:39 The Best part of the M&A job & How Negotiating & playing cards are similar

16:29 How to win at poker and M&A

19:42 How many deals did Bill work on before book

20:25 Why he wrote the book, M&A for Dummies

26:11 Don't give my company ideas about wanting royalties

29:15 Did the "For Dummies" brand help you?

30:43 Did the M&A for Dummies book open new doors or backfire?

35:41 What is difference between first edition book and 2nd?

36:57 What's my Valuation? A. "It depends"

38:58 how to create Sell Side Valuations for buyers

43:30 When 80% of your revenue is from one customer

46:15 If the Quality of Earnings Report is done right...

47:58 I am the Tax man. page 185 of Mergers & Acquisitions for Dummies

49:###-###-#### Reasons Acquisitions Fail: Bureaucracy, Zombie, No Authority, pg. 331

55:###-###-#### Lurking Problems for Sellers: Accruals, Parallel Activities & The End Run pg. 335

LINKS to Bill Snow

www.linkedin.com/in/billsnow

Mergers & Acquisitions for Dummies by Bill Snow on Amazon.com