Question for the hive mind: Approximately what percentage of M&A ideas shown to clients (bakeoff, general pitches, buyside, sellside, etc.) would you estimate results in a mandate?
I'm sure there's going to be a wide range of answers, but curious if there's anything approaching a consensus.
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If we pitch it, we win it.
Depends on who you are pitching for. Some PE firms are known to invite a dozen bankers to pitch for everything. So then the bank's chance of winning would be just that; 1/12.
Some private companies might talk to you exclusively simply because you have done former deals for them and they like you. It varies. On average I would say that more sell side pitches results in mandates, simply because it is harder for the company to do properly themselves. If you pitch for a buyside mandate it's tougher because the company might just run off and do it themselves without using advisors.
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