October 23, 2002
Willkie Chairman Jack H. Nusbaum interviewed for a feature article in the October 2002 issue of The M&A Journal (Vol. 3 No. 7). The article, entitled “A Perfect Storm - Dealmakers Peer Past the Maelstrom,” examines current trends in the M&A market while drawing comparisons to the strikingly similar economic and political environment surrounding the market in 1991.
Willkie Chairman Jack H. Nusbaum was interviewed for a feature article in the October 2002 issue of The M&A Journal (Vol. 3 No. 7). The article, entitled “A Perfect Storm - Dealmakers Peer Past the Maelstrom,” examines current trends in the M&A market while drawing comparisons to the strikingly similar economic and political environment surrounding the market in 1991. The article recalls Mr. Nusbaum’s 1991 prediction that stock-for-stock deals, joint ventures, and other creative uses of paper would come to the fore in the absence of cash availability. Mr. Nusbaum, who two years earlier played a significant role in the landmark $30 billion leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco, Inc., stated in a 1991 interview that “since companies are afraid to leverage their balance sheets heavily, and the ability to do so is not in the marketplace, companies will use their own paper as currency.” Today, with regard to sellers’ inflated expectations, Mr. Nusbaum explains to the journal that after a stock market collapse, “eventually, buyers and sellers move closer to one another, either toward one set of ambitions or the other.” Mr. Nusbaum serves as Chairman of Willkie Farr & Gallagher and is a partner in the firm’s Corporate and Financial Services Department. He specializes in mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and fiduciary duties, and internal investigations.
