What I Have Learned From Failed Deals

Hey everyone,

As I continue my IB education, I came across this article and felt I would share it and ask a few questions about it.

The main reasons for failure that this post goes into detail about are;

1) SELLERS: YOUR BUSINESS IS NOT WORTH WHAT YOU THINK

2) BUYERS: THE RATIONAL PRICING THEORY HOLDS TRUE IN THE MIDDLE MARKET

3) DEATH IS INEVITABLE

4) TO ASSUME IS TO MAKE AN ___ OUT OF U AND ME

5) TIMING, TIMING, TIMING

6) UNCHECKED EMOTION

7) DEMOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS

8) “IT AIN’T OVER ‘TILL IT’S OVER”

This article goes into more detail on each subject, and was a great read.

Do you think there are more reasons deals fail? What is the worst deal fallout that you worked on or read about? How many deals do you think fail a year? (example 1/5 or 20% or any other number/percentage you have experienced or believe is correct)

Happy Monday everyone, keep grinding out there.

Disclosure: I am actually in the interview process with investmentbank.com for a remote internship starting next semester of school (August). This is a publicly available article, however it was sent to me in an email.

9 Comments
 
Best Response

Deals failing in IB are annoying, but that's really all they are at the analyst level. I was always annoyed for a day or two because I wouldn't get a deal toy, but then I moved on.

Now that I'm in corp dev where completing deals is tantamount to my company's growth strategy and where my bonus is linked to my company's performance, it affects me much more. The absolute worst is when the deal fails because management failed to disclose something. I work for an industrial manufacturer, so environmental regulatory compliance, safety, OSHA violations, asbestos liabilities, IP, etc. all matter a great deal. Imagine if you're halway through the deal and management "finds out" they "forgot" to disclose a string of OSHA violations or that they were just served by a class of asbestos victims or that they forgot to file a form with the US patent office. The deal usually ends immediately. Worst is if we've spent months on this deal.

 
njmonkey46what type of bank do you work at?

Let's try this again. Ring, ring is njmonkey there? The deal spread pays really well but its going to be extremely hard to close. Not only that but I dont know if the issuer will be able to repay the whole issue. Should I tell my boss to forget it? or just pull a Goldman?

"The higher up the mountain, the more treacherous the path" -Frank Underwood
 

Dolores sit accusamus iste ipsum et quam. Mollitia assumenda nam assumenda quis. Officia hic omnis nobis quaerat culpa quibusdam. Sapiente quia provident ut labore.

Perspiciatis consequatur autem ut eaque vel voluptate. Aut sint provident voluptatum quo fugit quidem et. Quia quae quo enim aut nam vel enim. Tempora sed nostrum at qui. Minus maiores possimus ut perspiciatis in. Distinctio est sunt ut et nihil architecto et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”