Peter Li - Inside the secretive world of corporate Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) - Why they don't work as a growth lever - S3 Ep3

"I am going to love doing this podcast. Because I don't expect to ever be hired into an investment bank or in-house M&A team ever again, I can be brutally honest." We talked further, but he had me at 'brutally honest'. That was the moment I knew we needed to interview Peter and uncover this murky world.

An overlooked way to quickly grow a business is to simply acquire customers. Customers which belong to another business. This tactic is overlooked because it's traditionally been the exclusive domain of investment bankers and management consultants who only deal with large companies. But recently, there’s been a groundswell of activity spurred by the tech industry as well as the emergence of micro-acquisition marketplaces. Acquisitions are frequently used by tech companies to buy capability, patents and for many reasons other than a short-term earnings boost.

So we talk with ex-M&A specialist, former real-estate salesman, army cadet, investment banker, and now, founder of a medical service company, Peter Li. And he exposes the M&A industry, warts and all, never shying away from a good dose of self-deprecation or telling it like it is. So you’ll learn all the dirty tricks, the conflicts of interest, and tactical plays that goes on in this secretive, right-knit, murky world.

So if you’ve wanted a crash-course in the world of M&A, or you’re looking at being acquired or thinking about acquiring another company, this is a must-listen episode.

What does Mumm Champagne and M&A have in common?

Why is the real estate and the investment banking industry so similar?

What is the old school M&A space vs the future led by tech companies?

Why are the best businesses to acquire almost never advertised for sale

Learn the basic stages in the M&A process.

Why most acquired businesses don’t create any value for the acquirer

Which acquisition marketplaces are growing quickly

Why did AGL reject Founder of Atlassian, Mike Cannon Brooke’s takeover bid?

Don’t worry, we don’t get into a technical discussion about financial or legal jargon but stay on a strategic decision-making level throughout with lots of practical examples, mostly from the Australian business scene.

So merge your consciousness with this podcast for the next 50 minutes and acquire newfound wisdom.