Conferences

Summary

                  Real insights delivered by real M&A leaders

Learn best practice M&A from some of India’s largest companies!

Learning Objectives

Learn Best-Practice M&A  

- Discover how to successfully identify acquisition targets

- Compare debt and equity financing structures

- Conduct best-practice due diligence tests

- Understand how to structure cross-border M&As deals

- Learn how use Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)

- Listen to the legal aspects of European acquisitions

- Uncover pre-deal strategy and planning strategies

- Link strategic deal drivers to human capital integration strategies

- Understand the legal aspects in corporate restructures

- Forecast the management challenges from off-shore acquisitions  

Who should attend?

·         CEO    

·         Head of M&A    

·         Chief Strategy Officer

·         MD      

·         Head of Corporate Development  

·         CFO    

·         Head of Legal/General Counsel  

·         Head of Integration

·         Partner

·         M&A consultants

·         Lawyers

Speakers

Debashis Poddar, Vice President & Global Head for M&A, Tata Consultancy Services

Mysore Prasanna, Group Executive President & General Counsel, Aditya Birla Group

Rajiv Saxena, Head of M&A, Essar

Anurag Singh, M&A Lead, DuPont India

Raj Balakrishnan, Director M&A, DSP Merrill Lynch

Rajeev Vaid, Vice President, Corporate Development, IBM Asia Pacific

Harish HV, Partner, National Management, Grant Thornton India

Ajit Anekar, Partner, Kochhar & Co.

Sameer Nath, Head of M&A, Citigroup India Investment Banking

Gayatri Balaswamy, Former Vice President M&A Integration, ISG Novasoft

Anand Desai, Managing Partner, DSK Legal

Victor Martinez-Angles, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, Genpact

Sidharth Rath, Head of Capital Markets, Axis Bank

Robert Noronha, Senior Director, Deloitte Haskins & Sells

Binoy R V Meghraj, Chairman, Meghraj SP Corporate Finance (Private) Limited

Abhijeet A. Biswas, Director (Head – Cross Border M&A), Singhi Advisors

Carlo Paris, Founder and CEO, Paris & Partners

Gaurang Kanth, Managing Partner, Kanth & Associates

Hiten Kotak, Executive Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Sunit Sinha, M&A Consulting Business Leader, Mercer India

Kartik Ganapathy, Head of the M&A Practice, Nishith Desai Associates

Nishchal Joshipura, Senior Member - M&A, Nishith Desai Associates

Dr. Ernst-Markus Schuberth, Partner, CMS Germany  

Vivek Gambhir, Partner, CMS Central Europe

Conference Agenda

Day One - 29 September 2008 

8:30        Registration  

9:00        Welcome address from the Chair

9:10        Keynote address: India's global M&A boom

·         Inbound and outbound activity levels

·         What lies ahead for mid and large cap acquisitions?

·         Identifying the key drivers for mid-market deals  

Harish HV, Partner, National Management, Grant Thornton India 

9:40        Capital markets environment and outlook

·         Domestic and global growth forecasts

·         Impact of currency fluctuations on deals

·         Commodity prices, inflation and interest rate pressures on Indian corporates, and their ability to undertake outbound M&A

·         Global export markets outlook – what sectors will remain strong?

·         IPO market outlook  

Inviting: Samiran Chakraborty, Chief Economist, ICICI Bank 

10:10      Forecasting business scenarios for future international acquisitions         

Analysing what it means to run an international business in today’s economic and social environments

·         What impact will the credit and oil crises have on international business?

·         How do you predict future scenarios and gain market visibility?

·         Is it better to be a generalist or specialist provider of goods and services?

·         If Europe and the USA move into a recession how do you find a new way to survive?  

Carlo Paris, Founder and CEO, Paris & Partners 

10:40      Morning break

11:10     Seeking opportunities in distressed targets - is it time to dig for value?

·         Identifying global opportunities in distressed assets

·         Conducting proper due diligence and risk management planning in distressed targets

·         Learn about the strategies behind some of Essar’s global acquisitions to date 

Confirmed: Rajiv Saxena, Head of M&A, Essar 

11:50     Corporate Restructuring: the Legal Aspects of Growth Initiatives & Management Challenges thereof  

Mysore Prasanna, Group Executive President & General Counsel, Aditya Birla Group 

12:30      Legal Aspects of European Acquisitions

·         Regulatory and competition law requirements (EU and national)

·         Issues with transactions in Germany

·         Key considerations in transactions in Central and Eastern Europe         

Dr. Ernst-Markus Schuberth, Partner, CMS Germany  

Vivek Gambhir, Partner, CMS Central Europe 

1:00        Challenges of Cross-border Mid-Market Acquisitions

·         Identifying suitable targets and establishing vendor interest

·         Checklist of do’s and don’ts

·         Managing cultural sensitivities and stereotypes

·         Building a team to manage the acquisition process  

Binoy R V Meghraj, Chairman, Meghraj SP Corporate Finance (Private) Limited 

1:30        Luncheon 

2:30     Topic TBC   

3:00     Topic TBC

  WNS

3:30        Afternoon break 

4:00        Developments in Private Equity backed deals

·         State of the Indian buy-out market - deal trends and volumes

·         Raising cash from PE - typical deal structure and processes

·         Typical prices in early and late stage private equity deals

·         Legal and financial issues faced by buyers and sellers in PE deals

·         Key considerations when looking for a PE partner

·         Understanding how management benefit from a PE investment  

Sameer Nath, Head of M&A, Citigroup India Investment Banking 

4:30       Introduction to Special Purpose Acquisition Companies ("SPACs")

·         How are SPACs structured?

·         Role of SPACs in Cross-border M&As

·         Advantages / disadvantages of SPACs

·         Use of SPACs in the Indian context  

Kartik Ganapathy, Head of the M&A Practice

Nishchal Joshipura, Senior Member - M&A, Nishith Desai Associates  

5:00        Taking India Inc. Global: The View from Europe 

·         Sourcing and Closing Acquisitions in the India-Europe Corridor

·         India-Europe Transaction Case Study (Power Equipment Sector)

·         The India Growth Story in Europe: Evolving European Perceptions of Indian Buyers

·         European Manufacturing Companies: Special Challenges and Opportunities for Indian Buyers

·         Outlook through 2010: Emerging Trends in the India-Europe Corridor 

William H. Avery, Elara Capital Plc 

5:30        End of day one

Day Two – 30 September 2008

8:50        opening remarks from the Chair

9:00        Keynote address: winning through Merger & Acquisitions

·         M&A strategy design and target identification 

·         Understanding the larger business context of M&A transactions

·         If M&A transfer value from the buyer to the seller, why are corporates so keen on them? 

·         Best practice target identification tools

·         Positioning your company for a M&A

·         Measuring synergies and market planning processes 

Debashis Poddar, VP Global Head for M&A, Tata Consultancy Services  

9:30        Valuation approaches and negotiating M&A

·         What are the tools and techniques of valuation?

·         Analysing the Income Approach to establish value

·         Understanding the cost of capital essentials for valuation 

Victor Martinez-Angles, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, Genpact 

10:00     Successful M&A execution processes

·         Identifying and observing key steps in M&A execution process

·         Avoiding poorly structured transactions

·         Designing and implementing value creating deals 

Rajeev Vaid, Vice President, Corporate Development, IBM Asia Pacific 

10:30     Morning break  

11:00     Art of the deal: negotiation and deal protection challenges

·         Successful negotiation strategies

·         Drafting and enforcement considerations

·         Risk mitigation against competing bidder pressures

·         Benchmarking what works and what doesn’t 

Abhijeet A. Biswas, Director (Head – Cross Border M&A), Singhi Advisors

11:30     Debt funding options – syndicated financing for M&A

·         Leveraging Indian syndicated finance structures

·         Using international bond markets for M&A transactions

·         Determining working capital and capital expenditure requirements

·         Evaluating the impact of leverage in a PE deal

·         Do the curbs in funding imposed by the RBI pose a challenge to investors?  

Sidharth Rath, Head of Capital Markets, Axis Bank 

12:00     Equity funding structures

·         Outlook for global and Indian equity markets

·         General equity structures and current deal trends

·         Structuring and negotiating share purchase agreements

·         Stock-for-stock and cash options

·         Raising cash from private equity

·         Applicable laws in local and cross border acquisitions  

Raj Balakrishnan, Director M&A, DSP Merrill Lynch 

12:30      Networking luncheon 

1:30        M&A Beyond Borders: the people dimension

·         Pre deal strategy and planning : how to assess your M&A readiness from a people perspective

·         Linkage of strategic deal drivers to human capital integration strategies

·         The challenge of culture integration in cross-border deals 

Sunit Sinha, M&A Consulting Business Leader, Mercer India 

2:00        Financial due diligence – the big picture

·         What is financial due diligence?

·         The process and getting value for money

·         Focus on cash

·         Focus on the future

·         Making good use of financial due diligence

·         Instructing investigating accountants 

Robert Noronha, Senior Director, Deloitte Haskins & Sells 

2:30        Tax structuring and leveraging tax planning opportunities

·         Corporate tax, withholding tax, indirect tax considerations

·         Efficient tax acquisition financing

·         Tax structuring in cross border deals

·         Alternative transaction structures

·         Post acquisition tax structuring 

Hiten Kotak, Executive Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers  

3:00        Legal and deal structuring arrangements in local and cross border acquisitions

·         Legal due diligence responsibilities

·         Identifying applicable laws and language

·         Common and hidden due diligence pitfalls

·         Indian rules and regulations for overseas M&A activities

·         Disclosure requirements and Directors responsibilities  

Ajit Anekar, Partner, Kochhar & Co. 

3:30        Afternoon break 

3:50        IP due diligence – a necessity, not a Luxury

·         Executing non-disclosure agreement and developing an IP due diligence framework

·         Gaining insight into a target’s liabilities to reduce

·         IP and privacy issues in M&A transactions

·         Procedural aspects of an IP due diligence

·         Timing of an IP due diligence

·         Identifying  IP assets

·         Post-merger IP issues

·         Applicable IP laws in outbound acquisitions 

Gaurang Kanth, Managing Partner, Kanth & Associates 

4:20        IT, HR and employment due diligence

·         What are the key factors in IT's ability to add value?

·         How to assess IT’s value

·         Understanding the business and employees

·         Assessing the cost – now and in the future 

Anurag Singh, M&A Lead, DuPont India

4:50        Integration issues – ensuring post deal value is created

·         Pre-deal considerations to ensure effective post-merger integration

·         Best practice Integration planning

·         Managing HR and business process integration issues

·         Managing third party M&A specialists in the Integration process 

Gayatri Balaswamy, Former Vice President, M&A Integration, ISG Nova Soft               

5:20                End of day two

Workshop Agenda

Workshop A – 1st October 2008

Gain best practice insight into conducting M&A transactions

Led by: Grant Thornton India

Mergers and acquisitions are among the most exciting areas in the world of corporate finance. However, they can also be a long and difficult process. While the current wave cross-border M&A is being driven more by strategic objectives than leveraged buy-outs, successfully completing an acquisition or a sale requires the use of a methodical and comprehensive framework that focuses on delivering the maximum deal value.

This workshop focuses all the key steps involved with conducting best practice M&A transactions. It will provide delegates with a comprehensive framework for the M&A process including; designing an acquisition strategy, target identification, deal execution and integration issues to be considered during the negotiation, and due diligence.

Through the use of real-life case studies to illustrate what does work and what doesn’t work, you will finish the workshop having either brushed up your M&A capability, discovered new strategies to help overcome current challenges or if you’re new to M&A, help you climb the steep learning curve, quickly. 

It will provide delegates with a tool chest of strategies and tips to successfully conduct best practice M&A.

9:00      Introduction course overview and trends in Indian M&A

9:10      Is M&A the right strategy for you?

·         Who should think of M&A?

·         What drives companies to M&A?

·         When should you contemplate an M&A? 

Harish H V, Partner Specialist Advisory Services

9:40       Transaction and Deal  management  

•         Developing a successful acquisition or Divestiture Strategy

•         Generating, filtering and selecting the leads and approaching leads

•         Negotiation and closure

•         Key pitfalls and experience in Due diligence

•         Deal structuring.

Vikesh Mehta, Partner Specialist Advisory Services.

10:10     Morning tea  

10:25     Valuing a transaction                              

·         The drivers of value in an M&A

·         Tools for valuation in an M&A

·         Synergy value how real and how driven by the urge to merge

·         Valuation and deal structuring. How one can change the other

·         ‘Walkaway’ valuation

C G Srividya, Partner Valuations

11:30     Post deal: maximising deal value through successful integration

·         The 100 day plan

·         The Long-term plan

·         Monitoring the state of the transaction.

·         Integration challenges

Mahad Narayanmony, Partner Transaction Advisory Services 

12:00    Lunch

Workshop B – 2nd October 2008

Forecasting business scenarios for future international acquisitions  

Time: 1:00 – 4:30

Led by: Carlo Paris, Founder and CEO, Paris & Partners

Being able to conduct international acquisitions presents a unique set of challenges however at the end of the day, it is only a tool to enable you to operate faster in a new market and get new market share.

The macro issues that underline your success in this endeavour require an appreciation of not only macro and micro economic forces shaping markets, but also an insight into the social, political, economic, marketing, logistic and environmental issues as well human resources availability that are unique to the environments you’re operating in.

This workshop has been designed as a unique check-up a self diagnosis test for M&A professionals to reflect on where their corporate M&A strategy is heading in the short, medium and longer term, and challenge them to analyse what it means to run an international business in today’s economic and social environments.

·         General features of today international business

·         Learning from experience about past crisis in international markets

·         What impact will the credit and oil crises have on international business?

·         How do you predict future scenarios and gain new market shares?

·         How to make money in mature markets

·         Is it better to be a generalist or specialist provider of goods and services?

·         If Europe and the USA move into a recession how to find a new way to survive and grow?  

We deal with these ‘big’ issues everyday but how often do we consider how they impact the markets and businesses we operate in or just do you react to short term necessities?

Take half a day out of the office to track the possible business scenarios over the next few years and start forecasting how your company will meet future challenges.

At the end you will be provided useful tools to consider both internal and external growth and if to look for new M&A acquisitions.

Pricing
(must register & pay by dates listed)