My experience as an M&A Analyst Intern at Oaklins Atlas Capital

In this article, Basma ISSADIK (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor of Business Administration, 2019-2023) shares her experience as an M&A Analyst intern at Oaklins Atlas Capital.

In May-June 2021, I was able to intern at Oaklins Atlas Capital, which is the Moroccan branch of Oaklins, a leader of M&A advising in mid-market operations. Oaklins group has advisory teams in 45 countries around the world. The Oaklins team provides mergers and acquisitions, growth equity and equity capital markets, debt advisory and corporate finance advisory services.

Oaklins Atlas Capital

Founded in 1999, Atlas Capital is an independent investment bank in Morocco covering all businesses: investment banking, asset management, stock market intermediation and private management. Offering a range of financial services with high added value, it targets a diversified clientele, whether companies and public offices, financial institutions, private companies or individual investors. It then was included in the Oaklins group and network which has presence across the globe through its 45 teams from Stockholm to Shanghai, from New York to São Paulo. The bank benefits from cross-border collaboration which helps the teams find the best suitable deals for its clients with a track record of more than 1900 deals being closed in the past five years.

Logo Oaklins Atlas Capital

Source: Oaklins Atlas Capital.

My internship at Oaklins Atlas Capital

During May-June 2021, I worked as an M&A Analyst intern at Oaklins Atlas Capital. During my time at the bank, my main responsibilities were writing fact sheets about new clients (through communication with the Oaklins Network) and target companies / projects in Morocco. I was also responsible for drafting presentations (teaser, pitch, kick off meetings), for valuations (DCF, transactions) of the target companies once our clients confirmed their interest with it, and for assisting senior management in day-to-day tasks in relation to the transactions.

This experience was my very first in investment banking and it helped me understand the M&A process and how important negotiation and customer relationships were to this field. This internship introduced me to the very basics of Mergers and Acquisitions through a high-level of personal attention and monitoring as I was in a team of five in total including two partners and three interns. I had the opportunity to learn directly from professionals who have been in the field for 20+ years. Moreover, through this internship, I have been exposed to many industries: textile, technology, agriculture, food processing industry, electrical equipment, infrastructure, renewable energy and to clients from all over the world.

Skills needed

Strong interpersonal skills
Financial analysis skills
Customer service (if you are to interact with clients)
To be familiar with finance and be able to analysis financial data
To be familiar with digital tools such as pptx and excel

What I have learnt from the internship

This internship has helped me learn so much about cross-border operations and how to approach potential acquirers with target companies and discuss the acquisition with them. It has also enabled me to have a solid understanding of many industries as I was in charge of sectoral research.

Key concepts related to my work

Mergers and acquisitions

Why do companies merge with and acquire other companies? Mergers and acquisitions are the act of consolidating companies or assets with an eye toward stimulating growth (it can expand a company’s market shares without it having to do significant heavy lifting), gaining competitive advantages (maybe eliminating competition and gaining market share), increasing market share, or influencing supply chains (eliminating a tier of costs).

A merger describes two companies uniting into a single company, where one of the two companies ceases to exist after being absorbed by the other company. The boards of directors of both companies must first secure approval from their respective shareholder bases. In 2006, Disney and Pixar completed a successful merger.

An acquisition occurs when one company (the acquirer) obtains a majority stake in the target firm, which incidentally retains its name and legal structure. For example, after Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017, the latter company maintained its name and continued executing its business model, as usual.

Tender Offer

A tender offer is a bid to purchase some or all of shareholders’ stock in a corporation. Tender offers are typically made publicly and invite shareholders to sell their shares for a specified price and within a particular window of time.

The price offered is usually at a premium to the market price and is often contingent upon a minimum or a maximum number of shares sold. To tender is to invite bids for a project or accept a formal offer such as a takeover bid. An exchange offer is a specialized type of tender offer in which securities or other non-cash alternatives are offered in exchange for shares. For example, Elon Musk has recently announced making a tender offer to acquire Twitter.

Proxy fight

A proxy fight refers to the act of a group of shareholders joining forces and attempting to gather enough shareholder proxy votes to win a corporate vote. Sometimes referred to as a “proxy battle,” this action is mainly used in corporate takeovers. For example, Microsoft Corporation made an unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo for $31 per share. The board of directors at Yahoo believed the offer by Microsoft under-valued the company, and, consequently, the board stalled any negotiations between Microsoft and Yahoo executives.

Why should I be interested in this post

This post is interesting for everyone who would like to work in investment banking and who would like to kick start their career by doing a summer internship.

Useful resources

Oaklins Atlas Capital

About the author

The article was written in August 2022 by Basma ISSADIK (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor of Business Administration, 2019-2023).

My experience as an M&A/TS intern at Deloitte

In this article, Basma ISSADIK (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor of Business Administration, 2019-2023) shares her experience as an M&A/TS (Mergers and Acquisitions / Transaction Services) Intern at Deloitte.

Summer 2021, I was able to intern at Deloitte Casablanca for a couple of months. I was in the Transaction Services team which was in charge of advisory in deal and IPO readiness, target screening, sell-side and buy-side due diligence, transaction accounting and reporting, and business integration or separation. Transaction services typically refers to the services provided when a business transaction takes place. An example of a business transaction would be a merger or acquisition of a company.

Deloitte

Founded in 1845, Deloitte is one of the biggest professional service providers in the world. Being one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, it provides services in audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax and legal advisory. Deloitte was founded by William Welch Deloitte in London in 1845 and expanded into the United States in 1890. It merged with Haskins & Sells to form Deloitte Haskins & Sells in 1972 and with Touche Ross in the US to form Deloitte & Touche in 1989. As of 2020, Deloitte is the third-largest privately-owned company in the United States, according to Forbes. The firm has sponsored a number of activities and events including the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Logo Deloitte.

Source: Deloitte.

My internship at Deloitte

When I arrived at Deloitte in July 2021, the team was working on a specific project in cooperation with the Minister of the Industry. I was in charge of analyzing the eligibility of our clients to obtain financing from the Minister of the Industry. We already had set criteria for the companies that would later be presented to the Minister of the Industry. Our mission was to select the interesting project in accordance with the “banque de projet” which had already been established and advise the companies to meet the criteria as best as they can. These criteria were of different natures:

In financing for instance, there should be a portion of the project financed by the shareholders / founders.
The forecasted financial figures should be realistic.
The business plan should fit within the criteria and so on…

The junior analysts made sure I was closely supervised and assisted whenever I needed help with anything. I was communicating with them on a daily basis, and they all ensured I had a great experience at Deloitte which is what differentiates the firm from other competitive professional services companies. From the start I was given a lot of responsibilities which I was very happy about. I was able to participate in meetings and had the opportunity to lead one at the end of my internship. It was a really good experience in a way that enabled me to have direct contact with professionals and feel very useful to the team as well.

Skills needed

To have some experience in accounting
To be able to communicate and interact with the team
To possess analytical skills and problem-solving skills
To be familiar with financial reporting
To be familiar with digital tools such as pptx and excel
To have a strong learning ability
Be able to take responsibilities early on

What I have learnt from the internship

This internship has taught me a lot on the importance of meticulousness and how vital it is to be very rigorous with the data we are given and the analysis we do of it. I have also learned lots about the role of an auditing and consulting firm in advising clients to make the best decisions for their companies.

Key concepts related to my internship

Due diligence

Due diligence is an investigation, audit, or review performed to confirm facts or details of a matter under consideration. In the financial world, due diligence requires an examination of financial records before entering a proposed transaction with another party. Due diligence (DD) is an extensive process undertaken by an acquiring firm in order to thoroughly and completely assess the target company’s business, assets, capabilities, and financial performance. There may be as many as 20 or more angles of due diligence analysis.

The main types of due diligence inquiry are as follows:

Administrative DD: Is the aspect of due diligence that involves verifying admin-related items such as facilities, occupancy rate, number of workstations, etc.
Financial DD: Financial DD aims to provide a thorough understanding of all the company’s financials, including, but not restricted to, audited financial statements for the last three years, recent unaudited financial statements with comparable statements of the last year, the company’s projections and the basis of such projections, capital expenditure plan, schedule of inventory, debtors and creditors, etc.
Legal DD
Asset DD
Human Resources DD
Environmental DD
Taxes DD : Due diligence in regard to tax liability includes a review of all taxes the company is required to pay and ensuring their proper calculation with no intention of under-reporting of taxes.
Intellectual Property DD: Almost every company has intellectual property assets that they can use to monetize their business. These intangible assets are something that differentiates their products and services from their competitors.
Customer DD
Strategic Fit: Acquirers are generally also very careful about exercising due diligence in regard to evaluating how well the target company fits in with the overall strategic business plan of the buyer.

Why should I be interested in this post

You should be interested in this post if you are interested in working in finance in general because it might help you understand if you would like to work in the field or not, and maybe help you refine your professional project.

Useful resources

Deloitte

About the author

The article was written in August 2022 by Basma ISSADIK (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration, 2019-2023).