Deals are getting bigger than anyone is thinking about. Way bigger.
Older established companies—Raytheon, UTX, Fiat Chrysler, and Renault come to mind—now see M&A as only 1 of a small number of strategies to drive growth, reduce costs, create the necessary scale to compete, or take on the massive R&D risk to develop transformational products. This is part of the new world order.
Newer companies—Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and QUALCOMM—look to M&A to position themselves for the future. These companies don’t let size faze them. They may face strong political headwinds, but these organizations are smart and relentless. The headwinds just add to the complexity—making these deals high risk even if they are not mega-sized.
Clients believe only a handful of law firms are truly positioned to handle the size, scale, and complexity these deals bring. Ultimately, clients see the field of law firms able to play lead counsel on these deals as small—maybe 12 to 20 players total.
The Titan Deal Firms (TDF) will configure themselves, build the infrastructure, and staff up for the biggest deals to come. And, they will hunt this work down around the world. The successful TDFs will enjoy premier branding to attract inbound leads. TDFs will learn to hone their business development skills to position themselves to be hired 6 months before clients seriously start acting on any deal—which is how most M&A hires are made.
We also see this happening in the Private Equity world. Deals are getting bigger and more capital is being put to work. These shifts in deal size lead to unprecedented opportunity for law firms of all sizes and stature.
Great News for All Other Firms
As law firms in the M&A space migrate to the Titan deals in the market, there is unprecedented opportunities for new players to get into this lucrative space. Firms outside the mega-deal firms will win big. These firms will take on the deals the TDF firms leave behind or refer out. All firms will move up and have access to larger deals as they step in to fill the void in the market. The real winners will start to position themselves now—changing their pitches to engage large clients in dialogue about M&A. You can follow the playbook:
I also recommend revisiting your strategic plans for M&A. The successful firms, the ones able to fill the void (and the TDFs) will design their strategy, resources, metrics, and goals to drive success. This includes deep and penetrating feedback on how clients are planning their M&A—as your clients are key drivers in your success.
There are few opportunities to witness, never mind participate in, a fundamental redefinition of the market. There is little downside risk for anyone with (or who wants) a meaningful M&A practice. The upside is enormous—and you can say you were there.
Congrats to Shearman & Sterling and Wachtell on their roles in the market-defining deal between Raytheon and UTX. And look for more to come.
Best of luck in the market ahead.
MBR