Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Tatjana Paterno provided insight for several media outlets related to some of the preliminary findings of the 2023 Private Target Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Points Study (Study). The Study is a publication of the Market Trends Subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Business Law Section’s M&A Committee. It examines the prevalence of certain contract provisions in publicly available, private target M&A transactions. The Study is considered the preeminent study of M&A transactions and is widely utilized by practitioners, investment bankers, corporate development teams, and other advisors.
Tatjana co-chaired the Study along with Jessica Pearlman, a partner at K&L Gates; Tatjana also serves as vice chair of the ABA’s Business Law Section’s M&A Committee’s Market Trends Subcommittee. The full Study will be released by the ABA later this year.
In an interview on the Legal Current podcast, Tatjana discussed the unique aspects of the Study, saying “Because of our experienced team, broad data set, and careful and detailed approach we believe that the Study has the trust of M&A practitioners and that’s why people view it as the gold standard for market metrics.”
In discussing some of the findings of the Study for a Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine article, Tatjana noted “a 30% increase in earnouts” during the period covered by the Study as compared to the period covered by the prior Study. Based on preliminary data, earnouts were used in more than a quarter of the transactions in the Study pool. To explain this increase, Tatjana said “The use of earnouts traditionally goes up during economic uncertainty.”
Media coverage about the 2023 Private Target Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Points Study includes:
- “Biotech Milestones: Almost Always Included, Almost Never Hit,” Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine (November 10, 2023) (subscription required)
- “ABA Private Target M&A Deal Points Study & Practical Law Partnership,” Thomson Reuters | Legal Current Podcast (November 8, 2023)
- “To Be Released Soon: The ABA’s 2023 Private Target Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Points Study—and Sneak Preview of Select Data Points,” ABA’s Business Law Today (October 18)