Smart Business Dealmakers: The Middle-Market M&A Podcast

Where should CEOs focus their time and energy as they scramble to survive the Great Shutdown of 2020? CliftonLarsonAllen Principal Joe Baez discusses the importance of internal reviews — people, operations, and finances — so that as the economy restarts, entrepreneurs are ready to get back to business.

For companies whose primary focus is developing digital or technology solutions for traditional industries, the COVID-19 crisis has led to an increase in business and a new age of innovation. Larry Berran, CEO of iPipeline, which develops digital solutions for the insurance industry, discusses why he's still on the prowl for acquisitions, and how he sees opportunities where others see challenges.

Investment banks are taking a harder look at balance sheets these days as raising capital and selling companies has brought new challenges during the COVID-19 crisis. Joe Wagner, managing director and partner with PMCF, discusses the changes entrepreneurs and CEOs need to consider when looking at deals.

We are headed toward a new normal in the M&A world. Multiples and valuations are changing, and the investment bank realm for buyers and sellers remains uncertain. Ken Serwinski, chairman and co-founder of Prairie Capital Advisors, shares his thoughts on dealmaking today — and where we are headed.

Are deals dead? Ice Miller Partner Rob Ouellette says "no," but they have taken on a different look during these uncertain times. Ouellette and Ice Miller Managing Partner Michael Jordan share their thoughts on M&A and other legal issues C-suite executives are dealing with during the COVID-19 crisis.

How are CEOs and entrepreneurs faring while the economy has essentially come screeching to a halt? And are they optimistic or pessimistic about what comes next? Joe Galvin, Vistage Worldwide's Chief Research Officer, answers those questions and more as he discusses the results of Vistage's recent C-Suite Survey.

As the U.S. workforce moved to virtual offices almost overnight, the landscape of staffing, culture, and talent management changed as well. TalentLaunch and Alliance Solutions Group CEO Aaron Grossman explains what he's seeing in the industry and what he believes will become the new normal.

Is deal flow dead or just in a holding pattern? Brian O'Neill, an M&A partner at the law firm of Tucker Ellis, discusses which types of deals are still getting done in these uncertain times and the impact on pending and existing contracts and agreements.

Ted Durkin, Managing Director and Pennsylvania Market Head for UBS, says it's not time to panic despite capital markets and investments being thrown into disarray during the COVID-19 crisis. Instead, he stresses remaining level-headed and sticking to long-term investment plans as the U.S. economy careens toward its new reality.

Legal issues have been at the heart of how companies are handling contracts and agreements during these uncertain times. Dickinson Wright's Scot Crow, Member and General Corporate, M&A and Private Equity Practice Group Chair, offers his thoughts on on how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted M&A activity, and where CEOs should be focusing their attention now.