New to M&A strategy for achieving your strategic objectives, and ready to build a strong knowledge base in just one day? Add AEC Mergers & Acquisitions Essentials Workshop to your AEC M&A Summit registration, or attend just this one-day primer on best practices and core success principles.
Register now using the AEC M&A Summit registration portal.
In today's robust M&A climate, whether you're buying or selling, it's too easy to make a million-dollar mistake.
That's why PSMJ's AEC Mergers & Acquisitions Essentials pre-conference workshop teaches architecture and engineering firm executives how to make smarter decisions and drive better deals... based on actual transactions that are happening right now in today's market conditions.
Add this one-day foundations program to your AEC M&A Summit registration for a fast and effective primer on the core principles driving the most successful transactions. You'll build your confidence, learn how the best deals come together, hear war stories about unexpected pitfalls, and get the guidance you need to execute a merger, firm sale, or acquisition that achieves goals.
More than a seminar, this 6-hour workshop delivers an equal mix of learning and doing to keep you engaged from start to finish. It's packed with case studies, exercises, and data on valuations and structures from real M&A deals, and facilitated by a seasoned expert who has advised both buyers and sellers in dozens of AEC transactions.
Key Takeaways
How changing market conditions impact AEC transactions
What buyers REALLY look for in a seller
How sellers can negotiate better valuation and deal terms
Find buyers without revealing your firm is for sale
How to separate high-quality sellers from sinking ships
When to sign an NDA and terms to watch for
How to keep discussions moving and to avoid stalled deals
Key early signs that it isn’t going to work
How to move from discussions to negotiations to agreement
Easy ways to avoid overpaying or leaving money on the table
Strategies to bridge a valuation gap… and when to walk away
Sharpen your skills with a valuation and negotiation exercise
When is the time right to draft a Letter of Intent?
Examples of actual LOIs and what goes into them
Binding and non-binding LOI components
The biggest blind spot in due diligence… and how to avoid it
How to deal with problems discovered in due diligence
How to keep running your business during due-diligence
Why deals fall apart after the LOI
4 things you can’t afford to overlook
How to announce to clients and employees
Real examples of successful acquisition integration plans.
Kevin Pitts provides advisory support to the valuation, ownership transition, and mergers & acquisitions practices at PSMJ.
As both a finance executive and advisor, Kevin has experience with founder-led and private equity–backed companies on buy-side and sell-side M&A, valuations, financings, and ownership transitions totaling more than $11 billion in transactions. He brings a unique combination of corporate development, finance, and advisory expertise to PSMJ’s mergers and acquisitions, valuation, and ownership transition practices. Kevin’s experience spans professional services, energy, industrials, construction, real estate, and healthcare, where he has consistently helped founder-led and private equity–backed companies execute effective growth, transition, and exit strategies.
Kevin began his career in public accounting before moving into finance, M&A, and project development roles. His first exposure to complex transactions came at Competitive Power Ventures, a private equity-backed energy developer, where he closed more than $7 billion in project financings, refinancings, and sales of landmark projects.
He later advanced into senior finance leadership roles in healthcare and industrials, where he supported acquisitions and financings exceeding $2 billion through innovative capital structures.
Recently, Kevin served as Vice President of Finance at Health Management Associates, a fast-growing private equity–backed healthcare consulting firm. There he built and led the M&A and finance function, partnering with corporate development and investors on all aspects of acquisitions that tripled revenue and EBITDA in under four years. He executed complex structures including 338(h)(10), 351, and F reorganizations, while leading financial modeling, diligence, negotiations, capital raising, and integration.
Kevin holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Iona University, is a Certified Public Accountant, and earned a Master of Science in Finance from Brandeis University.
Mitchell Mafra, CM&AP, is an M&A Advisor at PSMJ, where he is focused on performing valuations and providing advisory services for both their sell-side and buy-side clients. He has a proven track record working on over 20 M&A deals in the AEC space, which includes deals with publicly traded AE firms, private equity, family offices, and various strategic buyers.
As a member of the M&A Advisory Practice at PSMJ, Mitchell has been a contributor to the M&A Insider publication, as well as a contributor to the M&A Essentials program, an educational program for firm owners. Further, he teaches the M&A process at the M&A Essentials Workshop for owners.
Prior to joining PSMJ in 2021, Mitchell worked at Adage Capital Management, L.P., a major hedge fund in Boston with over $44B in assets under management with a focus on industrial and energy sectors.
Mitchell’s strong academic foundation is evident in his dual degree from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. He holds a B.S. in Management with a Finance Concentration and a B.A. in Economics.
Whether on the buy side or the sell side, entering into a merger or acquisition can be a very risky bet. Even a seemingly small oversight or error in judgement can lead to a catastrophically expensive mistake. That's why every minute of AEC Mergers & Acquisitions Essentials Workshop focuses on the latest strategies for structuring win-win transactions… from assessing valuations and finding the right counter party all the way to implementing a successful integration.
