M&A Science Podcast

Bill Stone, founder and CEO of SS&C, breaks down how he financed nearly 100 acquisitions with debt instead of equity without losing control of the company.

Cooley partner Aaron Binstock breaks down where AI actually helps in M&A deal work, and the mistake that nearly cost a client millions.

Jennifer Lipschultz, ECI Software Solutions, on the banking, benefits, and language surprises that break global M&A integrations after close.

Baker McKenzie's Derek Liu breaks down how to structure, diligence, and retain talent in acquihire deals now that AI is driving billion-dollar price tags.

Andrew Morbitzer, VP of Corporate Development at Life360, explains why most M&A pitches fail before the first meeting and what sellers and bankers need to do differently.

Shawn Rodricks closed 220 acquisitions across two orgs by building the operating system first. Get the playbook, team structure, and integration framework.

Jeremy Segal of Progress explains how to build a pre-LOI deal model precise enough to outbid PE on competitive acquisitions without overpaying or retrading.

Commvault’s Haseeb Jawad on how to build retention before close, so the people your deal thesis depends on actually stay.

Matt Arsenault of Jamf breaks down how to buy venture-backed companies priced at future value, closing the deal when the math doesn't add up.

Eight deal professionals share the M&A moments the CIM never shows -- from birthday cake mid-presentation to a buyer who died before close

Sam Delestienne won at $15M below the highest bid. Five corp dev leaders tell us what closes deals when process runs out.

Jörgen Wigh explains the Nordic serial acquirer model: governance, 10% failure rate targets, cross-border friction, and what it takes to build from scratch.

Jörgen Wigh built a billion-dollar M&A company with 85 acquisitions and zero exits. Learn how to maintain pricing discipline, operate autonomous companies, and compound without traditional integration.

Integration leaders from Intel, Coursera, Ansys, and UKG debate what tools and workflows deliver real value in M&A integration (and what just creates expensive noise).

Tomer Stavitsky, SVP Corp Dev at Omnicell, explains how partnerships can strengthen pre-acquisition strategy, covering PE dynamics, ROFR structures, and milestone design.

Chandradev Mehta of Hexion on using M&A to transform a commodity chemical business into a technology-enabled, chemistry-as-a-service model.

Keith Levy spent 30 years inside strategic acquirers and growth equity. Here's what it actually takes to build a consumer brand a strategic will buy. Part 2 of 2.

Keith Levy backed an exit of just under $1B and a $400M exit using the same five-pillar framework. Here's how he evaluates a consumer brand before writing a check. Part 1 of 2.

Matt James, EVP, CFO & Chief Acquisition Officer at Oakbridge Insurance, co-founded the platform in 2020 and has since closed 60+ acquisitions. In this episode, he breaks down how Oakbridge built integration into the deal process from day one, what he's seen go wrong at billion-dollar platforms that didn't, and how he structures deals, teams, and data systems to hold up under serious buyer scrutiny.

Dan Caruso on the IRR framework that replaced budgets at Zayo, the negotiation tactics behind 45+ deals, and how he engineered a competing bid when buyers tried to retrade at the finish line.

Dan Caruso built Zayo from zero to a $14B sale. Here's how he sourced deals, integrated fast, and measured what actually mattered.

Rodrigo Dominguez Sotomayor of White & Case breaks down what actually drives deal success in Latin America — from regulatory traps to cultural dynamics most buyers miss.

Chrissy Cox of Booz Allen Hamilton on building proprietary deal pipeline through partnerships, testing culture before LOI, and why the best deals start years before the process does.

Nathan Rust reveals how Salas O'Brien screens 200+ opportunities a year — and why cultural fit, not EBITDA, is their real deal filter. 93% leadership retention. 30 mergers. Zero failures. (They call them mergers for a reason.)

Mauro Sambati and Donato Romano of Gianni & Origoni break down Golden Power, Italian labor law, and the cultural dynamics that make or break cross-border deals in Italy.