The ACG is a grouping of corporations, private equity, finance and professional service firms that share ideas in order to boost corporate growth. With over 11,000 members, encompassing Fortune 500, Fortune 1000, FTSE 100 and mid market companies, across 53 chapters in North America and Europe the ACG has earned the right to call itself the “premier global association for professionals involved in corporate growth.”
The main focus of the ACG is the sharing and networking of individuals or groups who wish to build the value of their organisation. The ACG is focused on strategic activities designed to increase revenues, profits and stakeholder value. They aim to fulfil this goal by carrying out a range of activities that encourage the sharing of ideas, best practices and the building of relationships in order to give members exposure to opportunities for growth.
Achieving goals
Publications and literature, both physical and electronic are a key method that the ACG uses in order to carry out its goals. Its official publication ‘Mergers and Acquisitions, the Dealmaker’s Journal'(MAJ) is an eighty page publication that replaced the Association’s monthly newsletter, ‘ACG Network.’ Through the publication the ACG is able to offer coverage and analysis of key deals and influential developments in mergers and acquisitions. Distributed to over 10,000 subscribers it includes headline local, regional and international news that is related to all of the ACG’s members and chapters.
The ACG also offers a monthly electronic newsletter to a database of current members, it utilises the interactive elements offered by the internet by allowing article submissions by members. Submissions for Achieving Corporate Growth are allowed to be 750-1000 words in length and they should be centred on topics regarding mergers and acquisitions (M+A) that are timely and instructive.
However a lot of the ACG’s work is done through networking and the sharing of ideals face to face between its members in order to maximise any M+A opportunities that arise in the market. Membership and involvement in the ACG can benefit executives, intermediaries and private equity firms.
Forging relationships
The biggest advantage the ACG offers to its members is the ability to forge relationships that will allow the sharing best practices and to be exposed to potential opportunities that could arise for corporate growth. For intermediaries the ACG offers an opportunity for long lasting relationships to be forged with Private Equity firms. For the Private Equity firms membership of the ACG allows them the exposure to take advantage of investment opportunities as they arise due to the sharing of ideas and strategies. Nearly 75 percent of members of the ACG advise that they have carried out deals as a result of membership.
The biggest event in their calendar is the annual Intergrowth conference which is now in its 35th year and will be held in Orlando in April with a record attendance of over 2,000 attendees expected. At the conference members of the ACG are able to network and to meet and develop relationships and this year’s conference has a number of added features to help facilitate dealings. Central to the Intergrowth conference in 2008 will be Deal Source, a social networking resource that will allow direct interaction between the attendees. Those who sign up early will also receive access to a full attendee list prior to the conference.
Additionally, those who attend Intergrowth will also have access to the Capital Connections online database of Private Equity firms and their portfolios of companies. There will also be educational sessions that will cover focused topics and inform attendees of the latest trends that need to be followed and adapted to. There will also be the usual golf outings, tennis sessions and the first ever Intergrowth 5k run.
