13 Top Conferences to Attend in Q4

Below is a list of 13 conferences in Q4’14 that target middle market deal professionals and business owners. As a friendly reminder, Axial Concord, our inaugural business development conference, is occurring next Tuesday in NYC.

As we have previously discussed, conferences can be an excellent way to boost your offline business development efforts and increase visibility of opportunities. If you are attending any of the below conferences, it is important to maximize value and effectiveness at events and to measure your ROI.

Look forward to seeing you at some of these events!

September 30-October 2: Exit Planning Conference, Fort Worth TX

The first event of Q4’14 is the International Exit Planning Conference. Hosted in Fort Worth, Texas, the event is expected to bring together deal professionals and business owners alike to discuss best practices in the exit planning process. Between the keynote addresses from Admiral Ray Smith and Charles Hollander, the conference is full of of “guru” sessions and breakout sessions.

October 1-2: 2014 ACG Richmond Virginia Capital Conference, Richmond, VA

ACG’s first event of the quarter is occurring in Richmond, Virginia. The conference promises attendees the opportunity to “network with leaders in the industry for private equity, investment banking, intermediaries, and deal professionals.” For those not signed up already, the Reverse Marketplace Tables have already sold out — but that doesn’t mean the event won’t be a success!

October 7-8: ACG M&A East Conference, Philadelphia, PA

Visit the City of Brotherly Love on October 7th & 8th for ACG’s M&A East Conference. In addition to the mainstays, like DealSource and breakout sessions, this year will featuring a new Grand Welcome Reception and keynotes from General Stanley McChrystal, Andy Kessler, and Billy Beane. Maybe you can apply sabermetrics to your portfolio companies?

October 7-8: World Business Forum, New York, NY

Hosted Radio City Music Hall in NYC, the World Business Forum promises a great experience for business owners and deal professionals alike. Focused on being a “source of inspiration, learning and transformation for leaders looking to build better businesses and a better world.” the two-day event should offer some great learnings from some of the biggest names in business today.

October 9: Private Equity Dealflow for Family Offices, New York, NY

One of the few events dedicated exclusively to family offices, ACG’s event at the Harmonie Club will help family offices better understand how to manage their dealflow and how to co-invest and work with private equity firms, investment banks, and fundless sponsors. The event will include a luncheon, panel discussion, and general networking.

October 15: EuroGrowth 2014, London, UK

Feel like going abroad for a conference? Check out EuroGrowth 2014 in London. Breakout sessions include “Risks & Rewards of Alternative Financing Sources in Europe,” “Dealmakers Panel: Cross-Border M&A,” “LP Perspectives on the State of European Fundraising,” and more. Sir Win Bischoff will deliver the keynote.

October 19-21: National Summit for Middle Market Funds, Palm Beach, FL

One of the biggest draws to the National Summit for Middle Market Funds (besides being in Florida in October) is the CapitaLinx, a set of pre-scheduled, private GP-LP meetings. You should also check out the panel on “Best Practices in Deal Sourcing,” which includes our very own Sam Jacobs on the panel.

October 20-21: Midwest ACG Capital Connection, Chicago, IL

If you must go to Chicago in the winter months, let it be for this ACG Capital Connection. This year includes a first-time “Women’s Networking Breakfast,” which will include a keynote address by JoAnn Price, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Fairview Capital. Other speakers include Michael Binstein of Gold Standard Enterprises and Carl Thoma of Thoma Bravo.

October 23: 5th Annual ACG Consumer Brands Conference, New York, NY

If you are in the consumer space and interested in learning best practices for selling to strategic acquirers, ACG is hosting a panel and keynote combination focused on the strategy. The keynote interview will include insights from Essie Weingarten and Max Sortino, both of Essie Cosmetics.

November 10: ACG’s 12th Annual Wine Tasting Gala, New York, NY

Boasted as the “leading NY event to generate new mandates,” the annual ACG PE Wine Tasting offers some high-powered networking at Gotham Hall in NYC. Last year’s attendees represented over $64 billion in aggregate AUM, had an average transaction value of $150 million, and exited 161 businesses in the prior 24 months. There are worse ways to spend an evening.

November 17-22: M&A Source / IBBA Fall Conference, Austin, TX

M&A Source and IBBA’s Fall Conference are coming to Austin, Texas this November. The two events have a combined networking and educational agenda, featuring courses like “Effective Deal Team Management: Working Together to Close More Deals,” “Legal Aspects of Business Brokerage,” and “Managing the Due Diligence Process.” Click here to view the full joint schedule.

November 18: Faegre Baker Daniels M&A Conference, Minneapolis, MN

Faegre Baker Daniels is hosting it’s 9th annual M&A Conference in Minneapolis. The day-long event will include panels on “Current Deal Activity, Valuations, and Outlook,” “International M&A Developments,” “The Stories Behind the Numbers: Observations from a Quantitative Analysis of Middle Market Deals,” and more. Register before October 1st to get the early-bird pricing.

November 18-19: Florida ACG Capital Connection, Tampa Bay, FL

Before the worst of winter sets in, ACG is hosting it’s 10th annual ACG Capital Connection in Tampa Bay, Florida. Capitalizing on the nice weather, the event begins with a golf outing before moving to more serious networking, DEALSOURCE, and breakout sessions. Andrew H. Friedman will give the keynote address on “The Washington Update: An Overview of the Political Environment, Prospective Legislation, and Strategies for Investment and Retirement Planning.”