How to Avoid Common Stumbling Blocks in an M&A Process: with Raam Jani

This week I was thrilled to welcome Raam Jani to the podcast, who is one of the most experienced lawyers in the Search Fund ecosystem, and within the small business M&A ecosystem more broadly. Raam is currently a partner at Baker Hostetler, where he works on a variety of mandates, advising private equity firms, independent sponsors, search funds, and CEOs on both the buyside and the sellside. In our discussion today, we cover:

Mechanics: Including when one should begin the legal diligence process, how to avoid overwhelming sellers with too many information requests, and how he deals with situations in which his legal counterpart is less experienced in matters of M&A.

Frequent Stumbling Blocks Within the M&A process: Including how to evaluate the true extent of the key person risk that resides within any given seller, what areas of the purchase agreement tend to be most contentious, and why he advocates for rep & warranty insurance

General Market Observations: Including whether he thinks the lower middle market is as inefficient as it was 5-10 years ago.

Link to the episode is below. Please enjoy!

How to Avoid Common Stumbling Blocks in an M&A Process: with Raam Jani