M&A Foundations · glossary
Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement — what you will actually do if this deal falls through (sell to the underbidder, keep the company, build instead of buy). The stronger your alternative, the stronger your hand. Chapter 14
Explained in Chapter 14, Negotiation: How Points Get Traded, of M&A Foundations.
The main page for this term is Best alternative (BATNA), in Negotiation Skills.
Negotiation theory gives this an acronym: your BATNA — best alternative to a negotiated agreement. In plain English: what actually happens to your client if this deal dies? A party with a strong alternative (another bidder, a credible plan B) can hold positions calmly; a party with no alternative should pick its battles with care. Much of what a corporate finance adviser like Harborne & Co does is manufacture a believable alternative for the seller.Read Chapter 14, Negotiation: How Points Get Traded →
Every chapter of M&A Foundations is free to read, including the full training share purchase agreement.
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