M&A Deal Project Names

Just saw this article in the Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/bankers-lament-loss-of-code-names-for-de…

So Goldman is automating the process of selecting code names for deals i.e. "Project Dolphin"

This is pretty clownish to me that banks are not creative enough to come up with names that hedge funds are not able to figure out to trade on. An example in the article is a buyout deal of Chuck E. Cheese with code name Project Token. That is terribly obvious and should never have been used. Using an outrageously obscure reference is part of the fun and clients like being part of that process. I almost think the hedge funds have a better chance of figuring out the "random name generator" being used by GS than if they continued using self selected code names.

Coming up with investment banking project names

An M&A deal name is used in place of the actual company name by members of an investment banking team. It's used in written and oral communications in an effort to keep any information regarding the deal under wraps.

The name should not have any direct relationship with the company or industry. The more random the name the less likely an outsider is to guess whos involved.

Ex. Project "Token" was used for a deal involving Chuck E Cheese. It's pretty easy to draw a conclusion on what the industry is.

In order to keep the deal silent, code names were used, according to two sources. 3G was called “goose,” Heinz was referred to as “penguin” and Berkshire was known as “owl.” The news release also refers to the buyer as “Hawk Acquisition Holding Corp”.

Key Takeaways

• Use random code names that can’t be linked to the actual deal

from certified user @adapt or die"

When I first read "Project Token" in the article I was thinking one of the guys on Chuck E Cheese's board of directors was black

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