Key takeaways
Host: Lauren Hayes, managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Presenters: David Oberst, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Sriram Prakash, director, Deloitte LLP
Ryan Stecz, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP
1.0 Overview CPE Credit | Specialized Knowledge
Volume and value of divestitures and spinoffs is a largely stable trend.1 That said, research suggests even more organizations are continuously exploring sell-side transactions to enhance their portfolios.2 Divestitures as part of the corporate strategy toolbox can unlock value for a seller, a prospective buyer, and the business to be divested. “Divestiture-ready” organizations are often better prepared to overcome challenges, abandon fewer transactions, and reap benefits. We’ll discuss:
- Divestiture and spinoff trends and how sellers are thinking about value
- Considerations for where to focus when evaluating divestitures
- Lessons when considering deals across geographies
1 Deloitte analysis of M&A data generated via S&P Capital IQ, accessed January 10, 2024.
2 Based on Deloitte 2024 Corporate Divestiture Survey (98% of survey respondents indicating they had at least one abandoned divestiture in the last 12–18 months).
Meet the speakers
Lauren Hayes
Lauren is a managing director in the Merger & Acquisition Consultative Services practice with Deloitte Consulting LLP and leads the US Divestiture service offering. She has more than 15 years of experience at Deloitte leading large integration and divestiture programs with a focus on the consumer products and retail industries. Lauren earned a BA in Economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business.
David Oberst
David is a partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP in the US and is a certified public accountant (CPA) licensed in IL and CT. He received his master’s in accounting from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. David completed a rotation within the SEC Services group at Deloitte’s National office, where he provided consultative services on SEC reporting matters. He has been with Deloitte for 15 years and currently oversees sell-side transactions, including divestitures, carve-outs, spin-offs, and IPOs in the TMT sector.
Sriram Prakash
Sriram Prakash is a senior executive at Deloitte and has held leadership roles across M&A, strategy consulting and insight functions. He serves as the global leader for M&A Insights and Ideation and is responsible for shaping insight-led market responses and driving thought-provoking conversations with clients. Sriram is also the global leader for Disruptive M&A, a multi-disciplinary proposition to help clients pursue innovation-led growth through investments in assets that are disrupting their market. Sriram advises clients on high profile acquisitions in disruptions such as metaverse, SVOD, IoT, and climate-tech and is the client relationship leader for two high-growth global companies, the largest ride-sharing company in Europe and a major digital-health scale-up that recently got listed on the NYSE. He’s a highly experienced strategy consultant and has advised on transformation opportunities covering growth strategy, new business launch, market entry, innovation discipline, and operational excellence. Sriram is well recognised as a thought leader and has authored more than 30 thought leadership reports. His research on cash and corporate behaviour was launched at World Economic Forum and Davos, and briefings were given to UK Prime Minister’s CEO Council. He is a regular speaker at conferences such as Mobile World Congress and a frequent media commentator in outlets like Financial Times, WSJ, NY Times, CNBC, and Bloomberg.
Ryan J. Stecz
Ryan is a partner with Deloitte Tax LLP in the M&A Transaction Services practice, based in Chicago. Ryan has more than 20 years of public accounting experience including more than 15 years as a dedicated M&A specialist. He has experience in advising financial and strategic buyers on due diligence and deal structuring in a range of industries including consumer and industrial products, healthcare, and technology. Further, Ryan has significant experience advising clients on sell side transactions including the preparation of carve-out financial statements, vendor due diligence reports, tax structuring and modeling exercises, and the tax implications associated with selling S corporations. Ryan’s experience in advising financial and strategic buyers on due diligence and deal structuring in a range of industries has provided him with deep insights into the sell-side process as well as the needs and motivations of acquiring entities. He has been a leading contributor to several articles covering tax aspects of preparing carve-out financial statements and selling S corporations. Ryan has spoken on a variety of M&A sell side related topics including vendor due diligence best practices, tax considerations of carve-out financial statements and selling Subchapter S corporations. He has also been a guest-lecturer at the University of Notre Dame’s Masters in Taxation program. He currently serves as a member of the St. Benedict Preparatory school’s endowment board.
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