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- No BS. Just Bullish.
No BS. Just Bullish.
Day in the Life | On Mars
The Wall Street Skinny
August 20, 2024
This Week on The Floor
Jen and Kristen here! Our first two issues were pretty heavily focused on volatility and important data in the public markets.
This week, we are diving into the private markets.
Many of you have eyes on a career path in the Corporate Advisory side of Investment Banking and/or Private Equity.
We are highlighting an important deal that was announced last week, and explaining some important technical aspects that may come up on the job or in an interview for an Investment Banking role.
We’re also giving you first-hand insight into a day in the life of a newly-minted Private Equity Associate.
All that and a bag of chips: Mars buying Kellanova
Real talk: hour by hour through one day as a Private Equity Associate
Coming up on the economic calendar: US housing data, PMI, Fed Minutes, & Chairman Powell; Eurozone CPI and German GDP.
Markets Recap / Deal News
Interviewing this week? Here’s some content for your conversation.
Last week, Mars announced it would buy Kellanova (the maker of Pringles and Cheez-Its) in a $35.9bn all-cash transaction, making it the largest deal of the year to-date.
This represents one of the largest deals in the snack world since Mars bought Wrigley back in 2008 for $23bn. It’s also a bold move in the age of Ozempic, when competitors like Nestle are pivoting by launching products geared towards GLP-1 medication users.
Kellanova Stock Price (courtesy: Bloomberg)
Never heard of Kellanova? That’s because it was the result of a tax free spin-off done by Kellogg last year.
To understand the difference between a spin-off and a split-off in the world of corporate advisory, check out last week’s episode where Kristen explains the mechanics (starting at minute 22:20) specifically relating to this deal announcement.
A Day in the Life of a Private Equity Associate
Curious about a career in PE?
Here’s one day in the life of a 26 year-old Associate at a Chicago-based Private Equity firm specializing in Software & Technology….
6:00am – I’m a morning person so I prefer to get up early (also an excuse to start drinking coffee sooner). I find it’s also the best time when I can work uninterrupted.
7:00am – Morning workout class. I go to a 50 minute HIIT workout class a few times a week that always kicks my butt.
8:00am to 9:00am – Walk back home / get ready for the office.
9:00am to 9:30am – Walk to the office, get my second cup of coffee, and go through my emails. I check my emails when I wake up but now go through in more detail to see if I need to reply to anything, schedule any meetings, etc.
9:30am to 11:00am – We’re working on an LOI (letter of intent) for an add-on acquisition, so I draft up a version that I then share with our deal team and portco (portfolio company) CEO. I also pull together a brief “LOI Best Practices” deck and share with our team / save on the drive. We’re a newer firm, so a lot of these materials are created on the go (very much a startup-esque culture) then saved for future reference.
“Ok so here’s what I ACTUALLY do all day….”
11:00am to 11:30am – Review an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) that one of our Managing Directors forwarded to me. I send the bankers an updated version with a few markups.
11:30am to 12:00pm – My colleague and I grab lunch.
12:00pm to 1:00pm – I have monthly 1:1 calls with one of the Managing Partners and bi-weekly catchups with our VP.
1:00pm to 3:00pm – I iterate on the combo model that I’ve been working on for the add-on acquisition (essentially a combo of the platform and add-on companies and what an operating model would look like under a downside, base, and upside case).
3:00pm to 4:00pm – I send out a few sourcing emails to companies that I shortlisted for one of my sourcing themes. I focus on quality vs. quantity when it comes to sourcing, but at times cold outreaches are the way to go. I avoid sending these types of emails on Mondays or Fridays as the hit rate tends to be lower.
4:00pm to 5:00pm – I have a bi-weekly data call set up with one of our portcos. I’m working with their business analyst on getting data to run a few analyses that will help us optimize the sales team (understanding bookings, commissions, performance, customer churn reasons, etc).
5:00pm to 6:00pm – Head home, make dinner, take a short break (currently listening to a new audiobook).
6:00pm to 10:00pm – I keep working on the model and on our internal investment materials (in short, a deck that memorializes all of our learnings about the company, the value of the combined business / strategic rationale for the acquisition, returns, etc).
10:00pm - 1:00am – Today was an especially long workday. Staying up ‘til 1am is not a weekly occurrence. We had a working session with the deal team between 10pm – 12am. I continued working for a bit after and sent an updated draft out to the team for comments and feedback.
This Week in the Markets
If you’re interviewing for a job in any kind of markets-facing or investing-based role, it helps to have a handle on economic data releases.
We will be rolling out a training program helping you learn to read the financial news this Fall.
Two Truths and a Lie
Test Your Wall Street Knowledge
Mars has to buy Kellanova in an all-cash deal because Mars is a privately-held company
Last month was the busiest July for M&A in three years
All else being equal, the expected interest-rate cuts from the Fed should benefit M&A activity