Douglas Barnard, former Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Legal Advisor at CF Industries (NYSE: CF)

Problems don’t usually surface at the early stages because it's the honeymoon phase. Both the buyer and the seller would like to see the deal happen, so they work together to build momentum. And often that means postponing dealing with some of the more difficult and contentious issues. However, these M&A challenges are inevitable and will arise as the deal progresses.

In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Douglas Barnard, former Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Legal Advisor at CF Industries, discusses effective strategies to overcome M&A challenges.

Things you will learn:

• Mindset to prepare for M&A

• Overcoming M&A Challenges Between Signing and Closing

• Mitigating Post-Merger Integration Risks

• Biggest Challenges in M&A

• Advice for First-time Acquirers

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Episode Timestamps

00:00 Intro

05:26 Mindset to prepare for M&A

10:26 Strategic Negotiation Tactics

13:03 Having a Foundation of Trust and Honesty

17:31 Assessing Buyer Transparency in Deal Negotiations

20:17 Mastering Valuation and Identifying Synergies

22:43 Identifying and Overcoming Obstacles in the M&A Process

24:40 Uncovering Surprises in Due Diligence

28:53 Utilizing a Private Investigator (PI) in a Deal

29:57 Navigating Complex Negotiation Stages

33:54 Zero-Sum Scenarios in M&A Auctions

35:51 Valuation and Auction Bidding Strategies

37:57 Overcoming M&A Challenges Between Signing and Closing

41:29 Mitigating Post-Merger Integration Risks

46:16 Biggest Challenges in M&A

50:24 Advice for First-time Acquirers

52:51 Craziest thing in M&A