Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
Learn what M&A advisory is, the difference between buy-side and sell-side, what the roles pay, which exit routes it opens, and how students can prepare.
Introduction
What is M&A advisory?
Mergers and acquisitions, usually shortened to M&A, is the part of investment banking that advises companies on buying, selling or merging with other businesses. M&A advisers guide a client through the whole transaction: they value the business, find or approach the other side, run the process, and help negotiate the price and the terms. They earn a fee for the advice and for getting the deal done, rather than investing their own money.
The fee itself usually has two parts: a retainer paid regardless of outcome, and a success fee, often the larger piece, paid only if the transaction closes. That structure aligns the adviser with getting the deal done, but it also means a firm can spend months on a mandate and earn very little if the deal falls apart. On a sell-side mandate the adviser typically also runs a formal or informal market check, contacting a shortlist or a wider group of potential buyers to test appetite and put competitive tension on price, even when a seller already has one interested party in mind.
Types of deal
The main types of M&A
M&A is a catch-all term for several kinds of transaction, which differ in structure, in how the two companies relate, and in why the deal happens.
Deals are also described by how the two businesses relate to each other:
The motives behind a deal usually come down to a few themes: accelerating growth or entering a new market faster than building from scratch, gaining scale and cutting cost, acquiring talent or technology, spreading risk away from a single product or region, or picking up an undervalued asset at an attractive price.
Two mandates
Buy-side and sell-side
Every M&A mandate falls on one of two sides. The side you are on shapes the work, the process and who you answer to.
In practice a sell-side process runs as a broad auction, a controlled auction with a shortlist of the most credible buyers, or a bilateral negotiation with a single party, and the choice affects both the price tension and the speed of the deal. A broad auction usually produces the strongest price but takes longer and risks confidentiality leaking into the market; a negotiated sale with one buyer is faster and more discreet but gives the seller less leverage. On the buy-side, the adviser distinguishes between a strategic buyer, a competitor or adjacent company buying for synergies and long-term fit, and a financial buyer such as a private equity fund buying primarily for a financial return, since the two negotiate very differently.
What they do
What M&A bankers do
Step by step
How an M&A deal comes together
Most M&A processes move through a similar path, from winning the mandate to signing and closing. Junior bankers do much of the analysis, the modelling and the documents along the way.
Behind the simplified diagram sit a few mechanics that shape timing and risk. Once a buyer is selected, the parties often sign an exclusivity agreement that stops the seller talking to other bidders for a set period while the buyer completes diligence and negotiates the share purchase agreement, the contract that sets out price, warranties and indemnities. Larger or cross-border deals also need merger control clearance from competition authorities before they can close, which can add months to the timeline and is one of the main reasons a signed deal is not the same as a closed deal.
Roles
M&A roles
M&A teams are structured as a pyramid, with several analysts and associates supporting each vice president and a small number of managing directors at the top who own the client relationships. That structure means the day-to-day workload is heaviest at the junior levels, while seniority is measured less by technical skill and more by the ability to originate mandates and manage clients.
Analyst
Does the modelling, research and documents for the deal team.
Associate
Guides analysts and manages the day-to-day of a live deal.
Vice President
Leads execution and manages the client relationship.
Director / Executive Director
Structures deals and helps win new mandates.
Managing Director
Wins mandates, leads deals and owns the client relationships.
Career timeline
How long each step takes
M&A has one of the clearest career ladders in finance. Most people start as an analyst straight from university, usually for two to three years, or join as an associate after an MBA. Progress depends on performance, and the hours are long, especially in the early years.
From vice president upward the focus shifts from doing the analysis to managing clients and winning mandates. Reaching managing director, the top of the group, usually takes well over a decade in the industry. Many people move on before then, which is one of the strengths of the path.
Many banks run an informal up-or-out expectation at the analyst and associate levels: people who are not on track for promotion are often encouraged to move on rather than stay in place for years. This is one reason the exit opportunities below matter so much, since a large share of any analyst class will leave the industry, or move to another bank, well before reaching managing director.
| Level | Typical time in the role |
|---|---|
| Analyst | 2 to 3 years |
| Associate | 3 to 4 years |
| Vice President | 4 to 5 years |
| Director / Executive Director | several years |
| Managing Director | top level, 10+ years total |
Compensation
M&A compensation
M&A is well known for high pay, made up of a base salary and a bonus that grows quickly with seniority and with the deals that close. The trade-off is the hours, which are long, often seventy to eighty a week for juniors and sometimes far more near a deadline, with late nights and weekends during live deals.
The figures below are a rough guide for large banks in the United States, where pay is highest. In Europe, including the Netherlands, it is typically lower, and part of the bonus is often deferred at senior levels. Treat them as an illustration, not a promise.
| Level | Total compensation |
|---|---|
| Analyst | $180,000 to $220,000 |
| Associate | $285,000 to $500,000 |
| Vice President | $525,000 to $800,000 |
| Managing Director | $800,000 and up |
Figures are illustrative, in US dollars, for large US banks, and include base plus bonus. European pay is generally lower.
A day in the life
A typical day for a junior M&A banker
Much of the day goes into models and documents. A junior updates the valuation, works on the teaser and the information memorandum, builds slides for a client meeting, and answers questions coming out of the data room. On a live deal there is constant back and forth with lawyers, accountants and the other side.
The pace can change quickly with client requests and with where a deal stands, and the work often stretches into the evening, especially near signing. Analysts regularly report very long weeks, sometimes close to a hundred hours during a busy deal. It is demanding, but it gives early exposure to real transactions and to how companies are bought and sold.
Juniors
What analysts and associates do
Junior bankers carry much of the analytical work that an M&A deal depends on.
- Building valuation and M&A models
- Accretion and dilution analysis
- Preparing teasers and information memoranda
- Screening and profiling targets
- Supporting due diligence and the data room
- Building client presentations
- Tracking comparable transactions
- Responding to buyer and seller questions
Skills
Skills you need
After M&A
Where an M&A background leads
One reason students target M&A is where it takes them next. A few years of deal work opens some of the most sought-after moves in finance.
Private equity funds recruit heavily from M&A specifically because the modelling overlaps so closely: an M&A analyst who has built accretion and dilution and merger models already understands most of the mechanics of an LBO model, which is the core tool used to underwrite a buyout. The main adjustment moving to PE is less about the modelling itself and more about shifting from advising on other people’s capital to being responsible for how the fund’s own money performs over a multi-year hold.
Getting in
How to break into M&A
Recruiting timing varies more by region and firm type than the list below suggests. Large banks in the US often lock in next year’s analyst class through summer internships more than a year in advance, while European offices and boutique advisers frequently hire on a rolling basis closer to the actual start date, which is one reason off-cycle internships and direct applications matter more outside the US.
Preparation
How to prepare as a student
Compare
M&A versus other paths
M&A vs the rest of investment banking
M&A advises on buying and selling companies. Other divisions, like ECM and DCM, raise money through shares and bonds. ECM leads IPOs and share issuances, DCM structures loans and bonds, and both deal mainly with institutional investors as the counterparty. M&A instead works with a single buyer or seller at a time, and the mandate ends once the deal closes, rather than continuing as an ongoing market relationship.
M&A vs private equity
M&A advises clients on deals for a fee. Private equity invests its own fund, buys companies and earns by improving and selling them. That difference in risk is fundamental: an M&A adviser earns a fee regardless of how the deal performs afterwards, while a PE fund only sees a return once it sells the portfolio company years later, at a profit or a loss. Many private equity professionals start in M&A first specifically to build deal skills before taking on the risk of their own capital.
M&A vs corporate development
Corporate development runs deals in-house for one company. M&A advises many companies from the outside. A corporate development team works on a small number of deals a year for a single buyer, and usually sits close to that company’s strategy function. An M&A adviser runs mandates for several clients at once, which gives more variety but less ownership of the long-term strategy behind any one deal.
M&A vs transaction services
Transaction services runs financial due diligence on a deal. M&A leads the whole process and the negotiation. TS teams, often at the large accounting firms, deliver a detailed due diligence report on the target’s numbers but do not take a position on price or negotiate on the client’s behalf. The M&A adviser uses that report as ammunition, to adjust the terms or defend the price.
M&A vs consulting
Consulting advises on strategy and operations. M&A focuses on the transaction and getting it done. Consultants are usually paid by the hour or by project regardless of the outcome, while an M&A adviser earns most of the fee only if the deal actually closes. Consulting work can still trigger a deal, for example a strategic review that recommends divesting a division, after which an M&A team takes over running the actual sale process.
M&A vs valuation
A valuation specialist produces an independent opinion on what a business or asset is worth, often for a fairness opinion, a tax purpose or a dispute, without running a sale process. An M&A adviser also values the business, but as one step inside a broader mandate that includes finding the counterparty, negotiating and closing.
Employers
M&A advisers active in the Netherlands
A selection of well-known banks and advisory firms that lead M&A deals in the Netherlands, grouped by type. We only list firms we have verified.
Global banks
Goldman Sachs
J.P. Morgan
Morgan Stanley
BNP ParibasGlobal advisory and boutiques
EQTDutch banks
ABN AMRO
ING
RabobankDutch M&A and mid-market advisers
Vacancies
M&A vacancies
We only show real, current openings with a link to the employer. Internships, spring weeks and analyst roles will appear here. In the meantime, browse all current vacancies.
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Recommended resources
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is M&A advisory?
M&A advisory is the part of investment banking that advises companies on buying, selling or merging with other businesses. The adviser values the company, finds or approaches the other side, runs the process and helps negotiate the deal, in return for a fee.
What is the difference between buy-side and sell-side?
Sell-side means advising a company that is being sold: preparing the materials, finding buyers and running the auction. Buy-side means advising an acquirer: identifying targets, valuing them and helping structure and negotiate the offer.
What does an M&A analyst do?
Analysts build valuation and M&A models, run accretion and dilution analysis, prepare teasers and information memoranda, support due diligence and put together client presentations. It is analytical, detail-heavy work with long hours.
How many hours do M&A bankers work?
Junior bankers often work seventy to eighty hours a week, and analysts sometimes report close to a hundred hours during a busy deal, with late nights and weekends. Hours usually improve at more senior levels.
What are the exit opportunities from M&A?
Common moves are private equity, corporate development, equity research, venture and growth funds, and in-house strategy or finance roles. Many people also stay and build a long-term career in M&A.
What skills do I need for M&A?
Strong financial modelling, valuation and M&A modelling, a solid grasp of accounting and financial analysis, attention to detail, clear communication, negotiation sense and the ability to work under pressure.
Do you need an MBA for M&A?
Not to start as an analyst, which is usually filled straight from university. An MBA is the classic route into the associate level and can speed up progression.
How do I get an M&A internship?
Apply early through spring weeks and summer programmes, recruit at target universities, consider boutique advisers as a less crowded way in, network with bankers and alumni, and prepare hard for technical interviews.
Related
Related finance paths
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