Transactions services - Ernst & Young - United States

Uncertainty is the only certainty in today’s market. In our new study, Why capital matters, we surveyed 490 senior executives from 32 countries, and show that it’s how you manage your capital agenda today that will define your competitive position tomorrow.

In the current market, should a potential seller hold or fold? For real estate companies, one of the biggest challenges is deciding whether to hang on to a money-losing commercial property or to sell it at a deeply discounted price. The decision is risky, nerve-wracking and complex. Learn what you need to do to overcome the current real estate transaction paralysis in this edition of InterChange alert (pdf, 111.4kb).

A new wave of oil and gas transactions is building in the pipeline. Companies and their advisers are busy making plans to buy, sell, swap, strike alliances and to restructure businesses and portfolios. Read more about how these deals will be structured in the October issue of InterChange alert (pdf, 132K).

As global economies continue to struggle, companies are working to free up or conserve cash to support their business objectives. Though in a recent Ernst & Young “Opportunities in adversity” survey only one in four companies indicated that they include the impact of taxes in their cash management analysis (pdf, 144K).

Any business model, no matter how good, will some day need to be tweaked, revised or scrapped.  The October issue (pdf, 521K) of InterChange  focuses on strategies for reshaping your business including how entrepreneurs are using innovation to capitalize on opportunity, how waiting on the deal sidelines can be costly and how some companies are looking to India for deals.

If what’s keeping you up at night is the attempt to value either your company’s current holdings of complex securities or those held by a potential acquisition target, you’re not alone. Complex securities (pdf, 96K)  have become a fixture of corporate balance sheets, featured prominently in a range of situations from acquisitions to executive compensation packages. Complex securities are everywhere. For that reason, companies should understand what these securities are and understand their values and what drives them.

A down economy rife with distressed assets can lead to advantageous buying conditions. But without a solid understanding of the bankruptcy process and its implications for buyers, risks abound. This InterChange alert discusses averting risks faced by companies buying assets out of bankruptcy (pdf, 165K).

Despite an increasing focus on active cash management by many companies,our annual working capital report for 2009 found that up to US$1 trillion of liquidity may still be tied up in working capital in 2,000 of the largest companies headquartered in the US and Europe. (Read the press release)