[Photo:  From Alchetron.com]

Martin Lipton, a founding partner of the New York law firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, specializes in advising major corporations on mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Lipton, 85, has been instrumental in shaping corporate deal making for decades; he is particularly well known for his efforts to bolster management defenses against hostile takeovers. Mr. Lipton, who set up the firm in 1965 with fellow graduates of NYU Law, continues to practice law and speak out against what he sees as the damage that the short-term drive for earnings has done to the economy.

In an interview with the NYTimes, he discusses the current merger landscape as well as his work to promote alternatives to what he calls “short-termism.”

Q: What trends are you seeing among your clients, in terms of what they are seeking in a transaction?

A: Companies are seeking mergers that do not dilute earnings, as well as mergers that will be viewed as natural extensions of product or of geographic markets - and, in addition, mergers to maintain position in consolidating industries.

Q: With the M&A market having a turbulent and uncertain year so far, what are the dynamics that you’ve observed?

A:  The significant influences have been mergers to accommodate and adjust to the impact of new technologies - such as the Oracle acquisition of NetSuite - mergers to achieve top-line growth that is otherwise not obtainable in a slow and low-growth economy - such as Sherwin Williams’s acquisition of Valspar - and mergers to obtain cost synergies and mergers in response to activist pressures, such as the Dupont merger with Dow Chemical. The primary cause of agreed big mergers falling through has been failing to pass the federal antitrust barriers.

[Click Link for Complete Interview]