Successful leaders recognise that M&A is critical to business strategy – whether acquiring, creating shareholder value, merging or selling.

Acquisitions can be a vital component of business strategy. However, for an acquisition to truly add value to a business, it must fulfil a range of requirements.

In recent years, the number of MBO deals has seen a steady rise. Last year, the number of deals rose 20%, from 76 deals in 2016 to 91 in 2017. In the same period, the total value of MBO deals grew from £2.6 billion to £2.7 billion – a 4% increase.