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Annual CFIE M&A congress

In this article I want to give you some insight in the networking that is done behind the scenes by the CFIE M&A team. A special focus here is on the annual CFIE conference where our partners meet and network. Over the years the CFIE team has been in various cities across Europe for CFIE meetings. Example of historic locations were we met were Barcelona and Frankfurt. This year we decided to meet-up in Rome.Being a successful merger and acquisitions advisor depends very much on the network you are involved in. If you can use a broad European network of advisors among whom are many industry experts it is much more easy to find the right buyer for your M&A project.

Topics discussed during the annual CFIE congress

Many topics are discussed during the congress. An important piece is an update of the partner companies. These advisor presentations ensure new members have a better idea about the background of the individual advisors. Further, individual advisors present deals they are working on. This can give an advisor good input on how to structure a deal, which companies are acquiring in the industry or how best to position the company based on the latest insights from within the field. There is also time for informal one on one networking. The networking increases the strength of the personal relationships. The result is that it helps team members people in case they have to reach out to each other for possible future deals.

Finding buyers for each other’s projects

An important part is of course to find buyers for each other’s projects. Many people know more than one and getting access to the right, unexpected buyer can be very meaningful. Hence, it is important to have a good understanding of the business projects your partners are working on. We have industry experts talk to general country advisors. This can lead to getting new target buyers on the radar for the generalists in the field of M&A. Of course we do this during the year as well, but at the annual conference you have the opportunity to go much deeper and the direct personal touch will obviously help as well. There is a commission sharing (as well as NDA) in place between the head office and the individual advisors so these important areas are covered too.

Objectives of the CFIE annual meetings

  • Get up to date with the latest activity of the individual CFIE M&A advisors
  • Discuss current trends in the M&A market
  • Find buyers or sellers for each others M&A projects
  • Get an update on the M&A status in the various European markets
  • Network on a personal level to be ready for further future cooperation
  • Discuss projects on a case by case basis one on one

In the end there are many reasons why it is good to meet-up regularly with the fellow M&A advisors.

Personal relationships matter

In the end it all comes down to personal relationships. People need to be willing to network and pick up the phone during the year. In this way projects can be described and new alternatives or routes for closing a deal can be found. We also take the time to go out and just see the sites or have lunch and dinner together. This informal get together helps the cooperation in the work practice. We explicitly take the time to just be out together when there are no practical obligations. Taking time for personal matters helps us to get new thoughts on how to arrange processes, with whom to network or how to adjust ones marketing activities. There is so much we can learn from other people in the team and how processes are set-up in other firms or countries.

Conclusions about the CFIE annual meetings

We think it is a valuable part of the CFIE M&A community. Being together helps creating the team spirit. It learns us that other methodologies can work as well in the European M&A world. We are still working on ensuring that all deliverables are being followed up and that we see an increasing activity between the various CFIE M&A advisors after the congress. We are looking forward to next year’s meeting already to continue the increased activity between the CFIE M&A advisors. The main objective is always how to help the business owner in the best way in a sale of his or her company.

Goossens | Thursday 8 October 2015 | website: Www.ESCG. eu
Date of seminar?
Thx

Govert Derks | Monday 14 December 2015 | website: www.cfie.eu
The seminar is currently once a year. We plan to extend it with industry specific congresses that occur during the year in various European locations.

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