Strategic Perspectives on M&A

M&A Science

Henry Ward, CEO and Co-founder at Carta,

M&A has become a critical tool for companies to stay competitive in today’s fast-changing market. But success in acquisitions now requires more than just speed—it demands a strategic approach that aligns with long-term goals and adapts to industry shifts.

In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Henry Ward, CEO and Co-founder of Carta, shares his insights on how businesses can refine their M&A strategies to thrive in an evolving corporate landscape.

Things you will learn:

• Building the case for actionability

• How to convince founders to sell

• Valuing high-growth companies

• Bounded vs. unbounded acquisitions

• Balancing disciplined acquisitions with opportunistic ventures

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This episode is sponsored by Grata. Grata is the leading platform for private market dealmaking. With innovative AI and diligence-grade data, Grata makes it easy to find and evaluate targets from the outside looking in. Win more with Grata.

This episode is also sponsored by DealRoom AI, the latest innovation from DealRoom designed specifically for M&A professionals. DealRoom AI automates the analysis and extraction of key information from due diligence documents, empowering teams to save up to 80% of their time on document analysis and focus on what really matters—closing the deal.

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Episode Timestamps

00:00 Intro

06:30 First failed acquisition story

09:13 Lessons learned during early deals

14:06 Building the case for actionability

16:31 Convincing founders to sell

26:06 Valuing high-growth companies

28:26 Bridging valuation gaps

31:48 Acquihires and product tuck-ins

35:39 Bounded vs. unbounded acquisitions

40:40 Lessons from unbounded M&A deals

44:22 Strategic capital allocation

46:33 Evaluating pipelines and allocating resources

48:10 How to make successful Corp Dev team and CEO relationships

50:25 Integration expectations from stakeholders

53:31 Thoughts on international expansion

56:02 Craziest thing in M&A