December 3, 2025 | 10:00 - 3:00 Eastern.
POWERED BY
December 3, 2025 | 10:00 - 3:00 Eastern
What to Expect
While debt markets and interest rates have cooled M&A activity, strategic and financial dealmakers are active – quality companies still command solid multiples in volatile markets. Learn the latest on market dynamics, successful deal execution, valuation factors and more from the most seasoned M&A dealmakers in distribution.
Strengthen your short- and long-term M&A strategies to prepare for private equity or strategic investment. Sharpen your buy-build-invest growth plans. Experienced speakers and panelists across distribution-focused investment banks, private equity firms and strategic acquirers share perspectives and advice in this two-day intensive – you won’t get a better pulse of what’s happening on the front lines of distribution M&A than in these eight hours of high-level insight and guidance. On-demand access through April for registered attendees.
Whether you are a wholesale distribution executive with either sell-side or buy-side strategies or a supplier using independent distribution as a primary channel, this event will help you negotiate more profitable deals and increase your revenue.
Speakers
What Will You Learn?
- Distribution M&A economics, market analysis and competitive dynamics
- Evaluating and retaining outside advisors
- Key provisions of an acquisition agreement, including representations and warranties
- Deal-financing alternatives
- Closing conditions, walk-away rights and related penalties
- Sample documents and tips on creating due-diligence checklists, offering memorandums, non-disclosure agreements, letters of intent, escrow strategies, terms and payout structures
- Best-practice integration plans to guide post-merger activities
Agenda-at-a-Glance
10:00 am - Opening Remarks
10:10 am - Inside The M&A Journey - Real World Perspective and insights on a Sale Transaction
Grant Dennis, Vice President, PMCF Investment Banking
Joe Wagner, Managing Director, PMCF Investment Banking
Lance Crane, President & CEO, Crane Group
10:55 am - Break
11:10 am - AI & The Modern Investment Banker
With the rise of AI, identifying potential M&A targets and buyers is becoming faster, cheaper, and more accessible. This session explores how AI is streamlining discovery, expanding target lists based on acquisition criteria, and even helping draft customized pitches and deal narratives.
11:40 am - Scaling Through Strategic Acquisition
Seth Feldman, Chief Financial Officer, Singer Equipment Company
Distributors pursuing growth in today’s fragmented market are increasingly turning to M&A as a core part of their strategy. This session features a practical look at how disciplined, well-sequenced acquisitions can strengthen service capabilities and create long-term enterprise value.
12:25 pm - Break
12:40 pm - Unlocking Market Insights
Gareth Hughes, Managing Director, Raymond James
Carl Gatenio, Managing Director, Raymond James
Understanding buyers is about more than knowing who they are in today’s shifting market. This session unveils emerging buyer trends, behaviors, and expectations that are reshaping the M&A landscape for distributors.
1:00 pm - Measuring Cultural Compatibility
Jay Greyson, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Supply Chain Equity Partners
Mike Marks, Founding Partner, Indian River Consulting Group
Evaluating how organizational cultures will mesh is a major consideration during any merger or acquisition, especially for family-owned and values-driven distributors. Discover how leading organizations assess cultural compatibility and learn practical ways to evaluate cultural synergy to develop a framework for future decisions.
2:00 pm - Licensing Landmines: How to Avoid Operational Disruption
Mary Anne Maples, Senior Product Solutions Engineer, Avalara
Joe Vitulli, Business Licensing Leader, AvalaraÂ
As distributors undergo M&A, the chances of falling out of compliance multiply, and even a single missed license can trigger costly, unforeseen consequences that put growth and operations at risk. Hear from Avalara’s licensing experts who will unpack the real-world risks of non-compliance, why manual tracking often fails in multi-location operations, and what leading distributors are doing to build a scalable, future-ready license strategy that protects growth instead of jeopardizing it.
2:45 pm - Closing Remarks
3:00 pm - Program Adjorns
Why Attend?
Best Practices in Distribution Sector M&A
Gain a deeper understanding of how to successfully complete a merger or acquisition, as well as the pitfalls that derail the process and how to avoid them. Advance your knowledge of the latest economic and competitive dynamics unique to wholesale distribution vertical markets.
The Role of Outside Organizations
Discover the best ways to leverage outside organizations such as investment banks, private equity, business brokers, legal and accounting firms, insurance and other business support networks.
Critical Trench Work
Learn the tactical issues required to negotiate acquisition agreements and other transaction documents to your best advantage.
Unlock Millions of Dollars in Value and Growth!
Sponsors
MDM Events Put You Directly in Front of Industry Leaders and Decision Makers
Each event builds off our highly successful Fall 2022 SHIFT event, with the addition of stronger sponsorship engagements that include pre- and post-event assets, as well as dedicated sponsor programming during each event.
Sponsorship includes:
- Logo on promotions and website
- Logo and acknowledgment at the event
- One free pass to the event
- Speaking slot on a panel for first four confirmed sponsors
- One email blast to MDM list (creative provided by sponsor)
- Attendee list delivered in an Excel document post-event
