Murray Inquiry could create advice consolidation

Speaking to ifa, PwC managing director of M&A Matthew Millar said the financial systems inquiry review could create corporate deal flows in the financial planning space if it identifies inoperable companies.

“It depends on the outcome of the review, but there may well be identified areas where banks or other institutions may not be able to operate,” Mr Millar said.

Mr Millar added that he is acting for a number of parties in the financial planning space and expects consolidation in the sector to continue.

“The financial planning firms we act for might not necessarily be doing transactions right now,” he said, “but they might be contemplating transactions or strategically thinking about where to next for them.”

Mr Millar’s comments come after he spoke on a panel yesterday at the Dealmakers ANZ Secrets & Success breakfast, in which he shared some of the tricks of his trade.

“Certainly in private transactions the key is to get more buyers, and if you don’t have more buyers, to create the illusion that there are more buyers,” he said.

“Some little tricks along the way are releasing information and data; sending out office notifications for a couple of days to look like you’re off doing management presentations somewhere can be helpful.

“Let’s say it’s a mining services deal that is in remote locations; you would say that you will be in a remote location and won’t have access to email. Some things like that are a little bit harder to catch.

“Those sorts of sneaky things.”

Mr Millar said the bulk of PwC’s work is sell-side.

“We like to get competitive tension into transactions,” he said.