An unconditional offer is the holy grail of mergers and acquisitions, but such deals are rare, says Luke Cummings, CIO at Harvest Lane Asset Management. In this short interview, Luke runs through his checklist for finding the perfect deal and outlines three live deals that he thinks could get sweetened. 

Attributes of the perfect deal:

• The offer is binding
• Not subject to due diligence or obtaining funding
• No “market-out” clause, allowing the bidder to withdraw if the share price falls
• A cash bid, as offers paid in another company’s shares don’t have a fixed value
• No A.C.C.C. (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) or F.I.R.B. (Foreign Investment Review Board) concerns
• The bidder should be credible
• The shareholders should be likely to accept the bid

*Recorded 16 August 2018.