This newsletter has a special focus on processes that form the basis of merger and acquisition activity. One of the articles discusses how to obtain value from due diligence. This is particularly relevant keeping in mind that the merger and acquisition landscape has undergone many changes in the past few years due to increased activity, complex deal structures and an increase in available capital.

The second article addresses valuation of a target and attempts to look at it from the board’s point of view. Valuation is steeped in data, yet it is also informed by judgment, making it one part quantitative science and one part qualitative art.

We also continue our updates on M&A in South East Asia in H1 2015. Our Singapore office reports that the country has seen appetites wane in the first half of 2015 but expects that deal activity should pick up in H2 2015 and H1 2016. While Hong Kong too reflected the slow pace of M&A activity in the first half of 2015 in the Asia-Pacific, China has proved to be the leading market in the region.