Top Law Schools

How do in-house exits for public M&A compare with those for PE M&A? Does public M&A lead to a broader set of exit opportunities?

Thanks!

Bumping this because I'm interested as well.

surechigau wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 14, 2021 10:37 pm

How do in-house exits for public M&A compare with those for PE M&A? Does public M&A lead to a broader set of exit opportunities?

Thanks!

The difference is people tend to actually want to work at their public company clients, whereas going in-house at a PE client typically isn't as desirable (in terms of pay to hours, not being a sizable enough lifestyle difference, etc.). PE firms also hire less legal counsel, so there are fewer such jobs available. It's just easier to move to a client if you already have a good thing going with them.

That said, just so we're clear, PE M&A and private M&A aren't necessarily one and the same.

The M&A work that most companies (including large public ones) do on a daily basis is private. Amazon's not buying large public companies left and right (though sometimes yes), more often they're buying private companies (almost all start-ups land in this bucket... maybe all, if you no longer consider an IPO-ed company a start-up). Doing private M&A work is great and will set you up just fine in terms of options.

PE M&A often involves buying private companies (though they could buy a public company), but PE deals can have particular complexities that aren't often as present in a strategic acquisition of a private company. You might get weird carveouts more often and unusual structures. That said, most law firms representing PE clients tend to help handle some ongoing corp gov and other work for their clients' portfolio companies, so that can be some good exposure. I've heard the port co work is a real pain in the ass as it piles up though.

Caveat - I didn't do a lot of M&A with or against PE firms before I left big law, so my personal experience is more with representing strategic acquirers on public and private M&A. Someone more knowledgeable than me can weigh in on PE M&A.