The economy might be going through turbulent times, causing many to reconsider the value of their company, but it has not stopped Chicago-based Hightower Advisors from pushing forward on its M&A deals, according to the firm’s chief executive officer.
Bob Oros, CEO of Hightower, joined Suzanne Siracuse this week on her podcast series "The Big Reveal," which recently moved to Financial Advisor Magazine's podcast platform.
The two touched on a variety of topics including the current state of the M&A market, how firms looking for buyers or looking to acquire a firm need to look for, and using technology to grow the business. In terms of ongoing deals, Oros reported that his firm has not seen any disruption in the deal flow.
“We’re seeing a pretty consistent amount of flow year after year,” he said.
He attributed it to his internal team which are constantly looking for the ideal partnership with other firms. M&A deals have become a core competency at Hightower, he told Siracuse.
While Hightower continues to be a major player in the M&A space, Oros said that the market turbulence has made it difficult for those looking for proper value for their firms.
“We’re seeing that it’s trickier to get deals done because first and foremost at some level you have to agree on value,” he said.
Given the current economic and valuation climate, it will be up to individual firms to determine how they wish to proceed, Oros said. They could decide whether they wish to move forward and if they do, they have to decide to do so in a manner that reflets the best interest of the firm, he added.
One of the most important aspects in reaching an agreement is culture. This can cover anything from how the goals and philosophies of each firm compares, to the level of control one firm wants and some of it just comes down to differences in the two sides’ world view.
“Culture matters the most but It is the part of the transaction that gets the least amount of science applied to it,” Oros said. “[Years after a deal] culture is going to matter a lot to you and the wire is going to be long forgotten.”