In 2015, law firm Baker McKenzie took a peek into its crystal ball, writing a report about global trends in business transactions over the next several years. The report’s authors predicted “continued strong upturn in M&A and IPOs over the next three years” thanks to trends such as accelerating global economic growth, low interest rates, and easy credit conditions. However, they also cautioned that “moderate corrections in developed stock markets will soften interest in deal-making worldwide by 2019.”

As a Venture Capitalist eyeing a new startup, the decision to invest involves weighing risk and measuring opportunity. Making the right choice can lead to big payoffs, but taking too long during the consideration phase can cause you to miss out on a promising idea or a hidden gem. To help you navigate the delicate balancing act between due diligence and striking while the iron is hot, here are the top five questions any VC should ask a startup entrepreneur. 

Despite the popular buzz around cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, the technology has yet to see mass adoption in the world of mainstream business and finance. However, the past year has seen a number of indications that cryptocurrency is gaining a good deal of legitimacy and stability.

No matter where you are in the process, starting or finishing a merger & acquisition requires the right strategy so that your organization can profit, grow, and thrive. There can be awkward adjustment periods on both sides of an M&A, on the part of the acquiring firm, and the firm being acquired. About half of all mergers and acquisitions ultimately fail, so handling the transitional periods with grace could lead to a better rate of success.

The first half of 2018 played out like an investor’s dream, with global M&A hitting a record $2 trillion, and the momentum just keeps ramping up.

Electronic documentation and paperless offices are increasingly common, but there are still a number of industries that require hard copies of important documents, often with original ink signatures. Of course, paper versions of critical documents must be filed and preserved in some manner. Companies frequently use virtual data rooms (VDRs) to maintain their records and store various types of sensitive data.

Knowing when to sell is always a challenge – since the timing of launching a process is not only critical to it being successful but also can make a significant difference to the valuation. One important consideration is knowing what buyers look for in a deal so founders can maximize their price and make the exit a win for them, the team and their shareholders.

In 2017, the biotech sector experienced over $9.3 billion in venture funding in 471 deals, including several mega-deals such as Unity Biotechnology and ADC Therapeutics. While 2017 was, by far, one of the best years for biotech venture funding since 2010, the question is can that momentum continue through 2018?

Are you interested in learning more about mergers and acquisitions in the tech market? Get a peek at the current and future outlook of the tech M&A market with our latest webinar, Trends in Tech M&A. Get the inside scoop on the tech M&A market, including the current state of the industry, when to sell, and how to leverage metrics and buyer behavior to get the best deal.

Healthcare information is both massive and highly complex. According to management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, patients will generate an estimated gigabyte of health data every day by 2020, from MRI scans to clinical trials. This flood of information represents both a challenge and an opportunity for healthcare companies that have the big data skills.