Meet the jury for the 2024 M&A Awards

Join leading investors and key players in Private Equity and Venture Capital on December 11

Mergers and acquisitions have long been a critical strategy for businesses aiming to grow, diversify, and achieve synergies. However, the path to a successful merger or acquisition is fraught with challenges, requiring meticulous planning, strong leadership, and effective stakeholder management. At the most recent M&A Forum three industry insiders (Koen Hoffman, Muriel Uytterhaegen and Edwig Tanghe) shared their views on the do’s and don’ts of value creation.

Companies that have a culture that embraces change do have an edge today.

What would you do differently if you were at the start of your career once again? What choices would you make? What life lessons would you consider? Intriguing questions, but impossible to answer, without experience. Unless… you can ask peers who already have many miles on their odometer. And that was precisely the idea behind the latest networking event for the Young M&A professionals: "10 things I wish I knew at the beginning of my career."

Most M&A professionals are used to dealing with big changes and being in a state of constant agility. But what has been upon us in recent times is of a rarely seen magnitude: a worldwide pandemic, a war in Europe, supply chain issues, geopolitical changes and some incredibly important elections. On top of that, of course, there is also a technological shift that is only accelerating. How does this affect business and what new strategies does it bring? That was the central question at House of Executives' most recent M&A forum.

At the M&A Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award was granted for the very first time. The honour fell to Jos Peeters, founder of Capricorn Partners. Everyone who learns about his efforts and accomplishments, both at a corporate level and across the wider sector of venture capital, will confirm this is a well-deserved recognition. We caught up with him for an insightful conversation.

Although Keyrock operates in a highly volatile sector, the cryptocurrency market maker has been recording a stable growth since its inception in 2017. To raise the funds it requires to continue that boom, the Belgian company recently opted for a new round of funding. It raised 72 million dollar and promptly won ‘Best Venture Capital Deal - Technology 2023’ at the M&A Awards. “Once all markets are digital, we want to be one of the largest financial institutions in the world.”

At the latest M&A Forum an inspiring discussion about deal succes took place.

How can young M&A professionals be agents of change?

This years’ Belgian M&A Awards highlight the added value of strategic M&A in growing the Belgian entrepreneurial ecosystem. More than 500 people attended the award show at the Brussels Expo.

A conversation with the new Community Manager of the Belgian M&A Community.