[author: Caroline Gieryn]

Some interesting links we found across the web this week:

The Success of Your M&A Deal Hinges on How You Announce It
First impressions matter, and this article from the Harvard Business Review finds that adage rings especially true in the M&A context, with a recent study showing that M&A deals which initially received positive market reactions, on average, experienced strongly positive market reactions a year later, and the converse is also true. Based on this data, the article underscores the importance of announcement day and effectively communicating the strategic rationale and economics of the deal to stakeholders, including investors and employees alike. Failure to deliver a strong, well-conceived message on announcement day could be a costly mistake that impacts shareholder returns over the longer-term, and this article offers guidance and critical questions for every leader to consider to avoid such a mistake.

What Latin America’s Startup Ecosystem Will Look Like by the End of 2022
2021 was a record-breaking year in many respects for venture capital investment, and investment in Latin American was no exception. According to Crunchbase, $19.5 billion of investor capital poured into Latin American startup companies in 2021 (three times the amount invested in previous years), and 26 Latin American companies are now listed on the Crunchbase Unicorn Board. While this article anticipates that increased confidence in the region will continue to drive new opportunities and further investment, it also explores the ways in which trends in investment spending in Latin America are expected to shift in 2022, including greater investment in pre-Series A investment rounds, as compared to 2021 where two-thirds of capital was raised in late-stage rounds, and a focus on companies that address the particular needs of the Latin American region. Read this article from Crunchbase to find out more about what to expect in 2022 from the Latin American startup ecosystem.

ESG – How Can We Measure How ‘Good’ Companies Are?
Due to heightened focus from investors, much ink has been spilled in corporate filings, press releases and on websites over three letters “ESG,” which stands for environmental, social and governance. However, there is currently no universal, one-size-fits-all way to measure companies’ commitment to ESG matters. In this interview, Nadja Picard, Partner, Global Reporting Leader, PwC, Germany, advocates for robust, factual and mandatory disclosure that is sufficiently standardized to enable investors, regulatory agencies and employees to compare companies’ relative commitment to such matters while minimizing the risk for companies of an unintended omission or misleading disclosure. This interview offers a fresh perspective on the much-discussed topic of ESG and expresses a view on the future role that corporate reporting will play in ESG-related matters.

How the Battle for Talent is Widening the Pay Gap
With a moniker like “the Great Resignation,” it is clear that these are unprecedented times in the US labor market. This article from Fast Company reports that as a result of a number of factors, including a tight labor market, employees seeking to reset their careers post-COVID and high wage inflation, it is now not uncommon for a new hire to receive compensation in excess of his or her boss, a trend that is especially true for younger companies without established hiring or compensation practices. However, the practice of offering disproportionately large compensation packages to new hires is increasingly problematic at a time when employees, investors and even some state governments are demanding greater transparency around pay. In addition to reporting on these recent changes to compensation, this article also provides advice for employers and employees on how to navigate this unusual labor market.

Startups Now Have Another Alternative to VC: Grow Through Debt
For most startups, financings are synonymous with equity issuances to venture capital-style investors. However, this article encourages startups, especially those with assets that are generating profits, to consider debt financing as an alternative means to raise capital. According to this article, debt financing can be especially attractive for companies like startup aggregators that do not want to give up ownership stake or companies currently experiencing a natural limit on growth initiatives and do not want to feel pressure to spend investor dollars on what company leaders consider bad assets or inefficient hires. This article explains some of the key advantages and recent trends in debt financing alternatives available to startup companies.