M&A pathway: M&A primer and large-cap case study

Thursday 10 September 2026 | 13:00 - 14:00 | Webinar

M&A Across Three Worlds: Large-Cap, Aggregators, Private Equity

M&A consumes huge amounts of capital and management attention, yet many deals fail to deliver value. This four-part series explores what drives successful acquisitions across large-cap corporates, serial acquirers and private equity investors.

Each session is led by an experienced practitioner and built around a real transaction: the Sky takeover battle, acquisitions within a high-growth software company, and the 2005 Hertz buyout.

Participants will:

• Understand what drives M&A and why many deals fail
• Examine how different buyer economics shape pricing, strategy and returns
• Analyse landmark transactions from deal execution through to integration and exit

This session

Mergers and acquisitions are easy to describe and hard to get right: most large deals fail to deliver the value their architects promised, and the risks that decide the outcome often sit outside the valuation model. This session sets out how M&A actually works — who sits at the table, what drives transactions and why so many disappoint — before examining what changes once a deal reaches large-cap, public scale, where disclosure obligations, regulatory scrutiny and execution risk all intensify at once. 

In this webinar, Federico Mennuni, CFA, grounds these dynamics in the takeover battle for Sky (Comcast vs Fox/Disney). Working through the deal’s sealed-bid auction, its regulatory path and the cross-border strategic logic behind it, the session shows where value is won or lost in large public transactions. 

Learning outcomes: 

• Understand what drives M&A transactions, why deals happen and why so many fail to create value
• Analyse what changes at large-cap public scale, where disclosure, regulation and execution risk intensify
• Evaluate a landmark takeover through its auction mechanics, regulatory path and strategic rationale 

Speakers
 
Federico Mennuni, CFA, Founding Partner Empiriant 

Federico Mennuni, CFA, is Founding Partner of Empiriant, a strategic and financial advisory partnership serving an international client base of corporations, family offices, and entrepreneurs. His expertise encompasses the full advisory spectrum, including cross-border M&A, corporate strategy, and the design of complex governance frameworks for intergenerational wealth preservation.  

Federico began his career as an investment banker in the Financial Institutions Group (FIG) at Credit Suisse, subsequently serving as a research analyst with a focus on risk arbitrage. Prior to founding Empiriant in 2022, he returned to private markets to lead a boutique advisory firm specialising in the sports and entertainment sector. Federico holds degrees from Bocconi University and the London School of Economics (LSE). 

Click here to view our event terms and conditions.