In January 2005, I wrote an M&A 2004 Recap and 2005 Preview, that described the M&A environment and my thoughts regarding how the coming year would unfold. I thought it would be an interesting time to try it again. Remarkably, two years later most of the critical trends that I identified are still in place, and in many cases, are even more positive than...

There’s no avoiding death and taxes, so it’s prudent to have a plan for both. Not surprisingly, preparing for the sale of a business presents many of the same challenges as estate planning, and, in fact, the two processes are intertwined. If you plan to die with millions in the bank, you should plan for your estate to pay millions in taxes. But by planning ahead, you can transfer some of the value in your business to your heirs or to a beloved charity, and eliminate a significant portion of the taxes.

This month’s Viewpoint focuses on one of the most important business decisions an entrepreneur ever makes: selecting an advisor for selling your middle market business. Choosing the right M&A advisor is important for any business, but middle market companies have unique characteristics that must be considered when selecting an M&A advisor. These differences make “fit” with your advisor critical.

Private equity deal flow continues unabated, heading towards what could be a record year. According to Merrill Lynch, private equity firms are on track to raise $146 billion by the end of the year, the highest total since $182 billion was raised in 2000. Large private equity deals continue to dominate the headlines and buyout rumors circling companies such as....

As M&A activity in the middle market continues at a robust pace, due diligence is a pressing topic on the minds of company leaders who want to time their exit to take advantage of today’s positive market conditions. For CEOs and CFOs who have not been through this process before, anticipating what it will take to jump through all the due diligence hoops can cause many a sleepless night.