MacFadyen: Greener Pastures?

June 16, 2008

The music may stop, the lights may go out and the keg may run dry, but a party doesn’t officially end until the people leave. That’s the current phase being seen in the M&A market, as a number of top names have recently moved on to greener pastures – greener not in the sense of more money, but possibly more time to spend with family, pursue other interests, or even just catch up on yard work.

The Wall Street Journal’s “Deal Journal” Blog highlighted Frank Yeary’s move back to school yesterday. Yeary, who was the global head of M&A at Citigroup, accepted a role at UC Berkeley as a vice chancellor. Meanwhile, Piper Jaffray’s former head of mid-market M&A Jeff Rosenkranz made similar jump in March, shifting his priorities to focus on family, running and golf. And in May, Norman Pearlstine transitioned to Bloomberg LP, rejoining his chosen field in media after a short two-year stint as a dealmaker for Carlyle Group.

The cynics will say that these moves may signal more trouble ahead – the thesis being that if there was money to be made, these guys and others would more inclined to stick around.

I think these moves are more indicative of past activity, reflecting just how much of a grind it has been during the past few years. Money is great, but it doesn’t make shuffling through airport security with your shoes off any more appealing. And you can only squeeze so many amenities into a quart-sized clear plastic bag.

With that said, this kind of turnover is normal after any boom period. Because what’s the point of grinding it out, if you don’t set aside some time to enjoy the spoils.