Hey fellow monkeys,
As I constantly see people talking on the forum about importance of gaining trust and subsequently being staffed on "good deals", I wonder what's considered a "good" deal? M&A > financing deals? Or does this really depend on your desired exit opps?
Also, worst case scenario if I'm being staffed on bad deals, how much worse do I look against my peers staffed on "good deals"?
Appreciate any insights here!
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Depends on the bank. I know someone who wasn’t staffed on a “good” deal in their first year then was the sole analyst on a mega deal their second year
Generally speaking, being staffed on a “good deal” means a high-profile (aka high fee) m&a deal.
These are also the worst to be staffed on as there is unreal pressure to perform from not only your group + ownership, but also senior leaders at your bank.
Being in the space, I view a good deal as an m&a transaction with i) competent management, ii) easy to work with sponsor, and iii) the company is actually a desirable asset.
Just do well on whatever you work on. You can learn 10x more on a small founder-owned sell side vs a $30bn mega deal with 50 people on the deal team
Awesome! appreciate the detailed response.
To your point, being book runner for a large IPO client, as famous as that client could be, is typically less of a good deal than an M&A?
To answer this point, I think it really depends on what you’re interested in.
If you’re at a top tech group and are exiting into growth / VC, you’d rather be on a big-ticket IPO versus a large, high-fee M&A deal. Also, a few banks / groups have a monopoly over big-ticket IPOs (ex, GS / MS are lead on basically every large tech IPO), so in general IPO experience is more scarce and people focus less on it.
Last line is absolute facts imo. I honestly like smaller deals because my MDs give me more autonomy and I can take more ownership of the process. This both lets me learn more, get closer with the client rather than being a drone, and have a more seamless process of putting together materials and such.
Anything m&a that has a solid chance if going through (sellside/buyside) is a good deal
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