Best IBD Group for Corporate Development Exit Opps?
Which groups in IBD typically have the best exit opps into Corporate Development roles? Do Corporate Strategy / Development groups prefer an analyst from an industry coverage group more than a product group analyst (M&A)? My understanding is that coming from an industry group will give you better options in Corporate Development in the industry which were worked in (Ex. 2 yr stint in Consumer & Retail IB -> Macy’s Corporate Development).
A coverage group will give you better exit ops mainly because you will bulid expertise in a sector in a shorter period of time. You will also have more exposure to the same companies and their management teams repeatedly. If you want to go to corp dev, figure out which industry and join that sector team.
Although if you want to go to corp dev then why are you considering IB? You will just burn out and will be disappointed with the pay when you leave...
I would think IB makes sense if you want to do corp dev since it's banking for the company you work for, right?
The issue I see is that Corporate Development is strictly in-house mergers & acquisitions team and work experience from an M&A product group at a bank would give you better exit opps vs. that of a coverage group where you might not get to work on as many M&A deals (IPO's, recaps, debt offerings, etc.). Granted they both provide solid experience, I just feel that being in M&A at a bank will give you more direct exposure to the type of work you would see in Corporate Development.
You are not giving enough credit to understanding the dynamics of the industry you are looking to get into. Working on those other things give you industry knowledge and understanding that you cannot get from a product group.
Corp dev, depending on the size of the company, will not always strictly be M&A. Could be many initiatives that span across the company: product development analysis, competitor analysis, corporate planning, partnerships, sales and marketing... Which is where the intelligence of someone with coverage group experience would come to play.
At a larger company, you want someone from an M&A product group because larger companies are more inclined to explore other sectors than their own.
Yeah I heard Macy's has a mean trading floor.
Was associate BB in coverage. Now leading corp dev at MF backed portfolio company.
The corp dev role can mean entirely different things at different companies. At acquisitive, mature companies, yes, can be just M&A. Here, coverage banking or M&A with industry focus wins. EB can be highly regarded here since it's only M&A
At a start-up for instance, it means doing everything. Fundraising, product development, developing a distribution strategy, figuring out what go-to-market strategy is best, etc. If you want the varied role, do coverage banking at a BB since EBs are not really that well known among start-ups since they'd provide little value. Start-ups need access to capital before they'd consider an acquisition so the bankers that help them lock down equity / debt get develop relationships first.
This thread... To the front page!
I believe you received some good explanations below mine, but to clarify, nobody is suggesting you cannot go M&A (or even another product group) --> Corp Dev. It just happens to be easier within an industry that you have covered, even if that was only a couple of years.
I regret my intial comment.
I used all my silver bananas on that little exchange. Don't regret it one bit.
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