Headroom for buy-side M&A deals

A thought leadership project dedicated to psychological aspects of buy-side M&A deals.

There’s lots of content in the market regarding the technicalities of M&A transactions, whether relating to structure, tax, or post-deal integration. What we’ve been observing though is that the psychological aspects of buy-side M&A transactions and the effect that these have on decision making are not talked about so often.

Dealmakers’ psychology inevitably comes into play during transactions, whether it’s the additional pressure and stress felt by buyers having to balance the competing demands of the ‘day job’ alongside an intensive transaction process, or a first-time buyer’s nervousness about asking the right questions during commercial due diligence. This is why we have created Headroom.

The Urban Myths of M&A

How unconscious biases affect deal success

To launch Headroom, our M&A lawyers have teamed up with the Bayes Business School (formerly CASS) at City University of London to deliver our joint thought leadership on cognitive processes at play in M&A decision making.

When looking to acquire a business, how do you tell if the deal is going to pay off? When money, reputation and business success are at stake, your decisions need to be the right ones. Research shows that executive decision making in M&A deals can be significantly impacted by behavioural biases. Even the most experienced dealmakers and advisers are, ultimately, not entirely rational, and an M&A deal brings out both the best and worst in human behaviour.

Download our joint White Paper with the Bayes Business School (formerly CASS), City University of London

Learn about cognitive processes at play during various decision-making steps and ways to de-bias the decisions that could have costly consequences.

Headroom White Paper

A must read for anyone involved in M&A transactions, whether in an advisory capacity, C-level decision making or post-completion integration, our White Paper will help you to: