Are there any simple M&A deals around?

In the past 15 years I have been directly involved in about a dozen M&A deals in one capacity or the other. Most of these were within the technology industry, one or two outside it. So far I have mixed opinions on how easy or how fast M&A's are agreed and reaches closing. I am by no means an expert so your opinions are most welcome.

In most M&A I have been involved in I was mostly one of the guys sweating, working for the shareholders and top executives except for about 3 deals where I was actually a major shareholder and recently where I was actually driving it. While working for others I used to think that the executives/shareholders have it easy since they don't have to do the leg work. However recently I have a shot in the arm on how difficult it is when you are on the top side of the wall.

The most recent M&A I have been involved with was the most intense and took the longest compared to other deals I have worked on in the past and upon signature it felt good. Now the ideal scenario is of course a simple deal that closest fast. Is there any of those around?

Invest or Monetize? Early Exit or Long Road Ahead?

The financial world is moving again, notable by the increasing number of new investments compared to the past 3 years. Having said that I spoke to a friend thi weekend whom I have not seen for ages who is having what I consider the most wonderful dilemma in the world. He is in the business of building medical infrastructure, hospitals in that regard. Currently he has this wonderful project to build an ultra-modern hospital of which he found an investor willing to finance the entire business from build to operation for 5 years then later find a big buyer. At the same time a bigger medical company approached him and willing to buy the entire project now at a premium considering future results.

So he asked for my advice. Well to me it was a simple question of financial benefits. Both offers look the same at the surface, although the value of money now is higher than the value of the same amount 5 years in the future. So next item is risk and reward, what is the probability that the project will fail compared to it becoming a resounding success and how much gain is five years going to give. This is a much harder point to consider and only he can actually answer.

Most importantly is how much he enjoys working on this project in the next five years compared to doing something else. I can't provide the answers and only him can decide, however if you are to decide what will you choose?

If I am in his shoes, and I would love to be in his shoes right now, I will most likely choose the most compelling and yet most challenging path between the current project and what I will be doing next.