The global M&A market ended 2018 with over $4 trillion in announced transaction volume, the third highest of all time, but was dominated by a number of ‘mega-deals’ and marked by a clear slowdown during the second half of the year. We’ll provide a review of recent M&A activity before discussing the outlook for the remainder of 2019. We’ll also focus on increased Venture Capital and Private Equity participation in the transaction market and the impact on the technology sector in particular.

Through the Q&A session, we will also discuss specific valuation concerns that the audience may have regarding M&A.

Mr. Chastaine is responsible for M&A advisory, special committee representation, providing fairness and solvency opinions, and valuing public and private securities and closely held companies. His clients include Fortune 50 corporations, middle-market public and private companies, family-owned businesses, and start-up ventures, and are spread across a variety of industries.

Before joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Chastaine was a Senior Associate at Willamette Management Associates, a national valuation advisory and economic analysis firm headquartered in Chicago. During his seven years with Willamette Management Associates, he gained extensive experience in providing business and intangible asset valuations for purposes of dispute resolution, corporate planning, and general financial reporting matters.

Mr. Chastaine received a B.S. in Applied Economics and Business Management from Cornell University and an MBA in Finance from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

Jennifer S. Muller
Managing Director

Houlihan Lokey

Ms. Muller is Co-Head of Houlihan Lokey’s Special Committee Advisory and Fairness Opinion practices and Head of Board Advisory Services and Solvency Opinions. She is also a board member of the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Law and Economics, Chair of the American Bar Association’s Women in M&A Subcommittee, and a prior Vice Chair of the American Bar Association’s M&A Committee.

Ms. Muller is experienced in business and securities valuations and corporate governance and specializes in fairness, solvency, and other transaction-based opinions. Her clients are typically boards of directors, special committees, and other fiduciaries and have included Google, Broadcom Corp., NVIDIA Corp., Liberty Media, Flextronics International, and VMware, Inc.

Ms. Muller speaks frequently at corporate and legal symposiums and seminars on corporate finance and valuation, and she provides commentary in various business publications. Recently, she has spoken at the National M&A Institute, the American Bar Association, and the Practicing Law Institute and has guest lectured at Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School, and the UC Berkeley School of Law, among other institutions, on the role of the financial advisor in M&A transactions. Ms. Muller also speaks regularly on the topic of increasing the level of participation of women in M&A.

Before joining Houlihan Lokey, Ms. Muller was a senior consultant at both Tucker Alan and Peterson Consulting, where she performed litigation consulting services that included analyzing economic damages for trial purposes.

Ms. Muller graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Mathematics/Economics from Claremont McKenna College.

Meal Type

Pre-Dinner

 

CPE Credits

One and a half (1.5) CPE credits available. Field of Study: Information Technology

FEI is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Questions regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website, www.NASBARegistry.org.