Corporations hoarding record levels of cash on their balance sheets. Private equity funds eager to deploy committed capital. Interest rates remain low. The S&P 500 finished yet another flat year. Has the stage been set for a robust year of mergers & acquisition activity in 2012?
Event Details
Join us on February 16th for an engaging discussion on where Middle Market Merger & Acquisition activity may be headed. Our forum will provide unique insights into factors driving valuations, deal activity and structures; as well as what sectors of the economy may be the most active in the coming year. We hope you will be with us for what promises to be an engaging evening of education, inspiration and participation.
Program
6:00 PM-6:30 PM: Networking and Beverages
6:30 PM-7:30 PM: Presentation and Discussion
7:30 PM-8:00 PM: Panelist/Audience Q&A
Speaker Profiles
Robert B. Brown (Panelist)
Managing Director, Lincoln International, LLC
http://www.lincolninternational.com/
Rob Brown has extensive experience in advising companies on divestitures, acquisitions and valuation issues. His clients have included middle market and large companies, as well as leading private equity groups.
Rob leads Lincoln International's Business Services Group and manages key client relationships, leads deal teams and is active in marketing the services of Lincoln International. As a member of Lincoln International's Management Committee, Rob also leads the firm's overall recruiting activities and is actively involved in the firm's international operations.
Prior to joining Lincoln International, Rob spent eight years with Price Waterhouse, an international accounting and professional services firm, in the New York and Chicago offices. His diverse experiences include management positions in Price Waterhouse's Investment Banking subsidiary and the Transaction Services Group, which provided due diligence, structuring and valuation consulting services to private equity groups.
Rob earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Business, where he was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma, and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana, where he was elected to Beta Alpha Psi.
Brent W. Felitto (Panelist)
Managing Director, Head of North American Investment Banking and Head of Global Health Care, William Blair & Company
http://www.williamblair.com
Brent Felitto joined William Blair & Company in 1993. His primary responsibilities consist of leading the firm's health care investment banking effort, which include deal origination and leading the group's execution team on a range of transactions including public and private equity financings, as well as merger and acquisition assignments. Additionally, Brent is a member of William Blair & Company's Audit Committee as well as the firm's M&A/Fairness Opinion Committee.
Prior to joining William Blair & Company, he worked as a financial analyst in the merchant banking, high-yield and corporate finance groups of Merrill Lynch in New York. Before beginning his 20 plus year career in investment banking, Brent played professional football in Europe for the Panthers of Parma, Italy. Brent earned a B.A. with honors in economics and government from Cornell University and a MBA from the Harvard Business School. Brent lives in Winnetka, Illinois with his wife and three children.
B. Graeme Frazier, IV (Panelist)
Founder & President, Private Capital Research LLC
http://www.pcrllc.com
Graeme Frazier is the founder and President of Private Capital Research LLC, a consulting firm that sources, originates and invests in buyout and recapitalization transactions for middle-market private equity firms and corporate clients (www.pcrllc.com); and he is also a partner in GF Data Resources LLC, a searchable proprietary database of transaction data on private equity-sponsored M&A transactions with $10 to $250 million in total enterprise value (www.gfdataresources.com). Graeme is also a non-executive founder of Private Equity Co-Investment (PECO) fund group (http://www.rbprice.com/PECO.html).
Prior to PCR, Graeme was Director of Research for the Private Capital Group of Berwind Financial Group, LP (a subsidiary of Berwind Corporation) where he was responsible for industry research and company research relating to the private capital activities at Berwind. Graeme has a BA in Economics from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and an MBA from Temple University (Executive Program), where he received the Dean's Certificate of Excellence and was elected to the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society.
Questions
Vern Broders, '94
General Director of Marketing, Gentry Partners Ltd.
312.201.8622
Other Information
The Chicago Booth Alumni Finance Roundtable is a University-sanctioned alumni network, formed and led by alumni professionals within the financial services industry. The common purpose of the finance roundtable is to facilitate interaction among alumni, students and friends of Chicago Booth and the University of Chicago. Our goal is to meld financial theory with real-world application by encouraging intellectual enrichment and professional growth through interactive discussion and presentations from leading finance professionals and academics; as well as elevate the stature of Chicago Booth. Events will be organized around the following three topic areas:
- Corporate Finance – capital markets, banking, strategic planning, and mergers and acquisitions
- Investment Management – asset allocation, asset management, and strategies
- Leadership and General – micro-finance, specialty finance, regulation, and industry icons
ALUMNI FINANCE ROUNDTABLE COMMITTEE:
Dustin Weinberger '06; Finance Roundtable, Chair
Richard Thoroe '07; Finance Roundtable, Co-Chair
Michael Fisch '02; Corporate Finance, Chair
John Salvino '06; Corporate Finance, Co-Chair
Scott Kemper '06; Investment Management, Chair
Guy Lakonishok'09; Investment Management, Co-Chair
Vern Broders '94; Leadership and General Topics, Chair
Kevin Clarke '08; Leadership and General Topics, Co-Chair
ALUMNI FINANCE ROUNTABLE ADVISORY COUNCIL:
Andy Busch '88; BMO Capital Markets, Global Currency and Public Policy Strategist
Vern Broders '94; Gentry Partners, Finance Roundtable past-president
Tom Ricketts '93; Incapital, Founder & Chairman