We’re excited to share this edition together with our partners Informa and StudioZX.
SuperReturn Middle East
SuperReturn Middle East returns to Dubai this October, bringing you face-to-face with the regional and international investment community.
Join 600+ private capital leaders, including 200+ LPs and 200+ GPs from 40+ countries, for three days of premier networking and insights.
This year’s agenda is packed full of expert knowledge on private markets, fundraising, secondaries, venture capital, AI and deep tech, infrastructure, growth capital opportunities and much more.
Companies already registered include 76 Columbus Family Office, Affirma Capital, Ali & Sons, DPI Venture Capital, IFC, Investcorp, KKR, Mubadala Investment Company, Permira, Ruya Partners, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and many more...
Specialised Insights. Specialised Networking.
Tuesday 21 October, 2025 - book a summits day pass and move freely between all three streams at your leisure, focusing on topics that matter the most to you: Private Credit , Infrastructure, Fundraising, Tech and VC
Don’t forget to quote VIP code FKR3598FRE to save 10%.
SuperReturn Europe
Discover new investment opportunities in the mid-market, fundraising, co-investments, private debt, secondaries and more
1,500+ real decision-makers. 500+ LPs. 750+ GPs. Across 50+ countries.
Now back in Amsterdam! Don’t miss your chance to…
Meet more than 1,500+ senior decision-makers
Specialist summits on fundraising, private debt and secondaries
Hear from 200+ leading, established and emerging managers
Supercharge your pre-arrange meeting with SuperReturn Allocate
View the delegate list & arrange invaluable meetings ahead of time
Hear from leading LPs and GPs on the most pressing challenges and opportunities in fundraising, secondaries, LP allocations, co-investments and more.
PLUS, this year you'll find more sessions focused on emerging managers and independent deal sponsors.
LPs already confirmed include, Alecta, APG Asset Management, Futur Pension Försäkringsaktiebolag, IIP Denmark, KENFO, LHV Pension Fund, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, OP Trust, Signal Iduna, WPV AAM and many more.
10% discount – VIP code: FKR3623FRENUS. Book now to save!
See you in Munich: 23rd German Corporate M&A Congress
I’m looking forward to the 23rd German Corporate M&A Congress in Munich on 30 October.
Many thanks to Detlev Leisse and the team at Studio ZX for hosting this great event!
I’ll be there in person – happy to catch up or connect beforehand.
Speakers include: Patrick Altenried, Dr. Anne Daentzer, Dr. Michael Drill, Boris Dürr, Dr. Regina Engelstädter, Thomas Fischer, Dr. Philipp Heinrichs, Kai Hesselmann, Dr. Dominique Hoffmann, Marc Jacob, Daniel Judas, Dr. Daniel Meuthen, Dagmar Mundani, Tobias Rauss, Markus Schiller, Deniz Schütz, Dr. Olaf Schween, Philippa Sigl-Glöckner, Martin Steidle, and Andre Waßmann.
If you work in Corporate M&A and would like to join, feel free to reach out to me.
And here is our M&A Summary for CW 41/ 42
Methodology: Every two weeks we collect most relevant posts on LinkedIn for selected topics and create an overall summary only based on these posts. If you´re interested in the single posts behind, you can find them here: https://linktr.ee/thomasallgeyer. Have a great read!
Operating Model & Execution
Leadership-anchored governance set the tone for decision speed and accountability in M&A programs
Cross-functional alignment among finance, technology, and strategy functions guided execution choices, not just deal approvals
Talent models featured reskilling, role redesign, and workflow integration to land value beyond the first 100 days
Change management emphasized explicit playbooks, adoption rhythms, and a tight measurement cadence to keep synergies on track
AI in Dealmaking and Value Capture
Narratives moved from “AI will transform the target” to “show the production architecture and unit-level ROI”
AI showed up in the deal process itself: sourcing, document review, and diligence acceleration, paired with controls and evaluation of outputs
Tool and model choices were treated as design decisions, not ends in themselves; retrieval tactics, agents, and auditability mattered for operate-at-scale reliability
Practitioners cautioned on ecosystem consolidation risk in data stacks, noting potential pricing shifts, integration breakage, and slower innovation after mergers
Responsible M&A & Governance
Guardrails, bias management, and monitoring practices were framed as enablers of scale and trust, not overhead
Boards sharpened oversight on accountability and decision rights throughout the deal lifecycle
Transparency and audit trails were positioned as operating requirements for AI-inflected workflows in diligence and post-close operations
Capital, Pricing, and Structures
Cost-of-capital reality reinforced disciplined valuation and underwriting; “promise of AI” gave way to line-of-sight savings and growth proof
Structures such as earn-outs, roll-overs, and carve-outs appeared as pragmatic tools to bridge expectation gaps and refocus portfolios
IPO windows and listing venues were discussed selectively, with jurisdiction choices and anti-takeover provisions noted in legal commentary
Sector Signals
Ecosystem consolidation (e.g., data integration and transformation tools) drew operator attention to vendor concentration risk and contract resilience
Data center transactions in the Nordics were cited as examples of resilient, utility-like assets attracting strategic and platform interest
Regional bank combinations were discussed through the lens of integration quality across cultures, systems, and customer bases
Posts highlighted disciplined scaling, workflow integration, and AI enablement as sources of premium multiples when proven
Partnerships and Product Moves
Partnerships were used to accelerate capability build versus buying end-to-end platforms, especially where time-to-value and compliance were sensitive
New solution rollouts were assessed on reliability, auditability, and speed rather than novelty, with operators prioritizing stable integrations into existing stacks
Talent, Culture, and Change
Culture was treated as an operating system for integration, not an afterthought; leaders stressed explicit behaviors, communication, and incentives
Teams invested in integration skills, agent oversight, and evaluation methods to keep AI-enabled processes robust under scale
Recruiting narratives linked M&A to career paths in operating excellence, not only to corporate development roles
Want to see the posts voices behind this summary?
This week’s roundup (CW 41/ 42) brings you the Best of LinkedIn on M&A:
→ 60 handpicked posts that cut through the noise
→ 35 fresh voices worth following
→ 1 deep dive you don’t want to miss