M&A roundtable.

• Author: Malan, Mekenna

This month, Utah Business partnered with Dentons Durham Jones Pinegar to host a roundtable event featuring Utah's M&A leaders. Moderated by Rachelle Morris of Crestone Capital, they discussed the state's M&A landscape, the ways Utah companies are attracting diverse talent, and outlooks on the exciting growth ahead. Here are a few highlights from the event.

What has the M&A environment been like in Utah over the last year, and how does it compare to national trends?

Mark Erickson | Partner | Tanner LLC

It's definitely been the busiest year we've ever had in the M&A field. One of the big shifts we've seen is, historically, we did most of our work for the buyer or the investor--we were doing buy-side work. That has shifted, and there's significantly more work being done on the sell-side now, where the sellers are engaging firms to do work to help them get ready and be prepared to go to market.

Regan Guth | Executive VP | Diversified Insurance

We spend a lot of time working with growth companies, and so a lot of transaction-related issues hit risk management and insurance. A lot of our growth companies' clients are either raising capital, buying companies, or selling. Historically, Utah has been a seller's economy. Companies start here, grow, then they sell and exit. You have a lot of buyers that come in from out of state. That shifted quite a bit starting in maybe mid 2019, and we saw more companies being inquisitive here. They're growing here, they're staying here, and they're now starting to bolt onto their existing organizations.

David Topham | Founding Partner | Tower Arch Capital

I would say that the Utah economy is very strong, but a lot of the M&A trends were driven by national tax issues. A lot of what we're seeing right now in the busyness of the M&A markets was driven by decisions that were made back at the beginning of the year, post-election, where people had rational expectations that tax policy was going to change. That drives a lot of conversations and a lot of activity that's really culminating right now. And I think that's national, not just Utah.

N. Todd Leishman | M&A and Corporate Law Attorney | Dentons Durham Jones Pinegar

Our national-based firm--which has 44 offices around the country--is experiencing, in every market, unprecedented growth and deal volume. So I don't think that we're unique about what's happening here, but I do think things are a little bit more of a fever pitch here, particularly around the technology...