“The year that turned corporate Australia (and everything else) on its head has made it plain that Lesson 101 of deal-making – that the only way to close out a complex negotiation is to nut it out around a boardroom table - is more truism than enduring truth,” says Jonathan.
Deal activity has been healthy, he explains, even buoyant, despite the fact that business people were rarely leaving their own homes, let alone suiting up to haggle with a room full of negotiating counterparties.
“But as life looks like returning to almost normal, as people return to the CBD, as business travel once again becomes possible, before we declare Zoom meetings the new normal, it’s worth unpicking a bit more of what we’ve learned from commercial engagement in the time of COVID.”
Having provided some insights on his experience as an M&A adviser, Jonathan muses on what the future holds – whether modes and channels of corporate engagement have been transformed permanently or whether, as circumstances permit, we’ll naturally revert back to direct human engagement.
Jonathan was assisted in writing the article by law graduate Kaitie Boyd.
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