Best places to be a corp dev associate

Curious if there are specific companies that are uniquely good for someone looking for corp dev experience. I'm sure that FAANG and MSFT and other tech companies are always acquiring small competitors, but are there any other companies that are really strong in these areas?

If not, are there any signs that signal the company is primed for lot of acquisitions? I imagine this activity is heavily dictated by the company's financial position, industry trends/position, and the desires of the CFO/CEO. This can be difficult to judge without a decent amount of networking, and it can change with management turnover. Any thoughts? 

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From a corporate development perspective, a ton of deal volume isn't necessarily a good thing which a different versus investment banking (focused on only fees). As a corporate development person, you want to pursue deals that that fit within your company's strategic/long term planning framework. So to answer your question, an ideal corporate development role is one where you are working under strong leadership e.g. CFO, CEO, etc.

 

Thanks for the reply, I'd never thought of it like that! At my bank, we receive bonuses directly tied to closed transactions, and generally "good" banks = more deals. I guess this is not the same in corp dev meaning the biggest draw should be quality of acquisitions, not quantity/size.

So I'd assume that, all things equal, a large/mid-size company in a hot industry with a strong track record of growth and good w/l balance is the ideal company for corp dev?

I had a call with a company that is PE owned and in a growing industry, and they were bragging about all the deals they've closed and how their sponsors were aggressive in add-ons (which they apparently work with corp dev group). Is this a good or bad sign in your opinion?

 

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