In the first part of this series, Translink International Vice Chairman and Chairman at Translink Corporate Finance Italy, David Strempel, unpacked the importance of a clear M&A strategy and how global M&A advisors can identify trends, opportunities and challenges, plan around them and advise accordingly. Here he unpacks how personalities and cultures can potentially hinder a transaction unless managed properly, and the important role played by advisors in finding solutions and smoothing what is often a complicated transaction.

Financing is a major factor in all mergers and acquisition transactions, especially in buy outs, and is an important driver of valuations.

Companies looking to buy businesses through third party financing, or to have a minority or majority sponsor onboard, currently have to deal with higher financing costs and lower valuations. This is because of the persistent volatile macro-economic climate, which includes the issue of inflation, the Russian/ Ukraine conflict, with all of them causing rising interest rates. These all directly impact the M&A industry.