BABSON PARK, MA – November 10, 2016 – The Babson Investment Banking Association (BIBA), a completely student-run organization on Babson?s campus, hosted its fourth annual Babson Investment Banking Conference. BIBA?s mission is to enhance the position of Babson as a top business school for investment banking by increasing the interest of students in this field, supporting students in their preparation for the recruiting process and improving relations with firms through the Babson Alumni Network. BIBA hopes to achieve this goal by continuing to expose Babson students to successful Babson alumni in the field. This year?s conference welcomed Roger Altman, the Founder and Chairman of Evercore, as well as Babson alumni and friends in the Greater Boston and New York City areas.
The conference features a day filled with keynote speakers from international financial institutions and panels focused on core financial sectors. The afternoon Mergers & Acquisitions panel featured four senior level Babson alumni across a wide variety of industries, including Jay Jamijian, Associate at Progress Partners. Jamijian fielded questions about valuation techniques, best practices for structuring an earn-out and avoiding deal-pitfalls. ?The specificity of questions related to M&A speaks volumes for Babson?s ability to prepare its students for a career in investment banking,? stated Alex Beshansky, President of the BIBA and former Progress Partners intern analyst.
Through this panel, speakers were given the opportunity to provide insights on the state of M&A activity today and its future outlook. Collectively, panelists agreed that aggregate deal value has risen for five straight quarters, but that deal volume had declined during the same time period. ?High valuations across broad sectors have resulted in buyers doing larger deals,? Jamijian noted at the conference. ?Strategics, Investors, and Ventures are willing to pay more, but not completing as many ? indicating that these acquirers are in general, maturing, having likely experienced the challenges that come with buying relatively immature companies and have raised their criterion and benchmarks in terms of transaction, scale and proof of performance.?
Progress Partners has a strong history with Babson and its financial club activities. Over the years, members Progress have had the opportunity to participate in other conferences hosted by Babson. Sam Thompson (Senior Managing Director, Progress Partners) has been involved with Babson in both event and academic settings, lecturing on his experience in M&A to students and speaking on a panel focused on Venture Capital in November 2011, hosted by the school?s PE/VC Club and the New England VC Association.
The firm looks forward to its continued partnership with the BIBA and growing its strong alumni connections with Babson, providing the opportunity for both undergraduates and post-graduates to gain experience in investment banking and M&A advisory.