Vlerick Business School professor, Sophie Manigart, reveals the criteria she votes against for the annual M&A Awards Belgium.
As the end of the year draws nearer and with it the much-anticipated ninth edition of the annual M&A Awards, jury member Sophie Manigart (professor of entrepreneurial finance at Vlerick Business School and Ghent University) looks forward to seeing what the nominees have in store for 2026. She observes that, since joining the jury in 2021, submissions have become more spontaneous and increasingly better argued, making for an interesting judging process every year.
She emphasises that, unlike a ranking – which tends to focus on the size or multiple of the transaction – this award recognises the deal’s broader impact, governance and long-term stakeholder value:
“Sometimes, big deals and high multiples win, but the jury has always looked beyond the numbers.”
The M&A Awards judging process
The M&A Community Belgium – together with Professor Mathieu Luypaert and the Vlerick Business School PhD researchers – first filters the M&A Awards nominations, then presents them to the jury for final deliberation.
In addition to Sophie, the jury consists of:
- Chairwoman Lieve Creten, former co-founding partner of the Belgian M&A practice at Deloitte and currently chair at Quest for Growth and Unibreda as well as independent board member at Barco, CFE and Montea;
- Renaat Berckmoes, co-founder and partner at Fortino Capital;
- Michaël Sephiha, journalist at Mediafin and De Tijd;
- Pierre Demaerel, former secretary general of private capital and chairman of the Belgian Growth Fund; and
- An Vermeersch, chief vaccines programmes and markets officer at Gavi, the Vaccines Alliance, and member of the board at Gimv.
Click here for more information about the jury.
These six individuals vote to reduce the shortlisted deals down to three nominees in each M&A Awards category. One clear criterion is that the transaction should be a ‘win’ for all parties involved. “We look at what it implies for the buyers and sellers, as well as management, employees, customers and suppliers. What opportunities does it bring?” Sophie elaborates, adding that, for the buyer, there should be a strong strategic rationale. “How will this acquisition create more value than merely the sum of the parts?”
Second, the jury also looks at the deal’s complexity. Sophie reveals:
“Some transactions are plain vanilla, while others require deep technical, legal, fiscal, accounting, finance or other skills. We prefer the latter ones.”
From the three finalists in each category, jury members must pick one winner, announced during the M&A Awards gala at Palais 10 at Brussels Expo on 26 November 2026.
The M&A Awards categories
Nominees are evaluated against six distinct deal categories and the jury's lens shifts depending on which one they're looking at. “Clearly, risky scale-ups – especially in life sciences or in tech – can’t be compared with transactions from mature, established companies. That’s why there are different categories,” Sophie explains. These are:
- Best Large Cap Corporate Deal
- Best Mid Cap Corporate Deal
- Best Large Cap Private Equity Exit
- Best Mid Cap Private Equity Exit
- Best Venture Capital Deal – Technology
- Best Venture Capital Deal – Life Sciences
Click here for more information about each category.
“For scale-ups, we are interested in how the initial investors created value within the company and how they helped it grow beyond merely providing funding. We also want to know how the new owners intend to further create value.”
Sophie notes, for example, how instrumental sellers were in strengthening the management team or gaining access to international markets, high-value customers and suppliers.
“This value creation is essential to secure an award-winning exit.”
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Additionally, the jury analyses how the buyer can support the business's value-creation story. “For mature companies, strategic rationale and complexity will often be the defining factors,” she points out.
Sometimes, however, boldness also becomes a surprising factor for success – such as "doing a deal that no one would have deemed possible, but ultimately seems to make a lot of strategic sense”.
The seventh category, the Lifetime Achievement Award, honours individuals who have made significant contributions to the Belgian and/or international M&A scene over the span of their careers.
