Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involve advising companies on buying or taking over other companies, requiring professionals with skills in raising funds, legal aspects, accounting, and business valuation. M&A jobs may require a degree in finance, management, accounting, or law, as well as strong interpersonal, numerical, analytical, and negotiation skills. Starting as a financial analyst for an investment bank and continuing education can lead to higher positions and salaries.
Essentially, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) work involves advising companies looking to buy or take over other companies. It requires professionals in these jobs to be versed in all sorts of ways to raise funds, from debt to equity, to finance merger and acquisition deals. Often, M&A activities are delegated to the department of an established investment banking firm. The M&A professional employed by this entity could be a person who holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, a lawyer who specializes in the legal aspect of M&A deals, or an accountant who primarily handles tax matters but can also help with business valuation. All three of these roles, and others in some cases, may require candidates to work together to find ways to better structure a deal and thereby advise companies looking to merge with or acquire other companies.
Mergers and acquisitions work can revolve around areas such as leveraged buyouts (LBOs), corporate takeovers, reverse mergers and more. Most of these jobs will be for the purpose of merging or buying companies to form one entity, but there are cases where mergers and acquisitions agreements will be for the purpose of breaking up companies to form separate entities. In addition, M&A professionals can be expected to survey all departments to assess and determine whether specific mergers or acquisitions are good business strategies for their clients. Therefore, M&A professionals need to have strong general business acumen that allows them to quickly understand different business models.
Generally, mergers and acquisitions work will allow the professional to advise the seller or the buyer, and his job is practically to broker the best deal for the client. On a buyout, for example, the finance professional will advise the client on different ways to finance the M&A deal, which typically occurs through debt and equity issuance. He or she will usually also propose debt and equity ratios and may also be responsible for dealing with private equity investors, especially when the deal involves private companies.
A mergers and acquisitions lawyer will typically address the legal issues related to the business and will likely also have a good grasp of finances. The mergers and acquisitions accountant will address tax issues and can also help with the valuation of the company being purchased. In addition, the attorney and accountant will work with the financial professional responsible for raising funds for the buying company. All three are tasked with making sure the deal makes sense and is likely to be profitable for the client. Large M&A deals may require teams of finance professionals, lawyers, accountants and perhaps other parties.
Many mergers and acquisitions jobs will require a potential candidate to have a degree in a discipline such as finance, management, accounting or law. One can obtain an entry-level job with an undergraduate degree in these disciplines, and he or she can move up in the company by applying himself or herself and, ideally, gaining further education towards higher qualifications. Highly regarded skills include strong interpersonal skills, numerical and analytical ability, strategy, competent negotiation skills and the ability to handle complex deals. Additionally, mergers and acquisitions jobs can require extended work hours, so perseverance is a good trait to have in this type of career.
Typically, to have a chance at many M&A jobs, you may need to start out as a financial analyst for an investment bank. The analyst can be hired fresh out of college and will work for the company to gain experience. At the same time, he or she can continue his or her education to obtain an MBA or other relevant qualifications. He or she can work for the company while simultaneously studying, which can be ideal for some people because it increases the chances of getting a better and higher position with the company, as well as a higher salary.
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