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The Dealmaker

Lessons from a Life in Private Equity

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The Dealmaker

By: Guy Hands
Narrated by: Simon Shepherd, Guy Hands - introduction
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

An inside account of the multibillion-pound world of private equity and a masterclass on the art of deal-making.

The Dealmaker is a frank and honest account of how a severely dyslexic child who struggled at school went on to graduate from Oxford and become a serial entrepreneur.

It describes Guy Hand's career in private equity, first at Nomura and then as head of his own company, Terra Firma. It looks in detail at the huge deals that Terra Firma has done over the years, involving everything from cinema chains and pubs to waste management, aircraft leasing and green energy. And it offers a brutally honest appraisal of the one deal that turned sour - the acquisition of multinational music recording and publishing company EMI in 2007, just as a global financial crash loomed on the horizon. Above all, it takes the listener inside the previously very secretive world of private equity, explaining how this multibillion-pound sector operates and providing audio portraits of some of the larger-than-life figures who people it.

Both insightful and engaging, it will prove inspirational and essential listening for all those concerned with or interested in the world of investment.

©2021 Guy Hands (P)2021 Penguin Audio Business Business Development & Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship Professionals & Academics Inspiring Thought-Provoking

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All stars
Most relevant
An opportunity to learn from a Master. what ambitious and hard work really mean. A very personal view

Rare insight

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This is a brave book, where humility and pride are well balanced. It will inspire people with challenging childhoods and or learning challenges but also remind all readers that universal characteristics such as hard work, discipline, determination and ambition are a pre-requisite for any significant achievement. Simon Shepard's narration is also first class..

Honest and brave, An inspiring recollection.

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A very good book throughout and full of valuable business lessons from someone who has operated at the highest levels.

Thoroughly Enjoyable

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If you intend to read this book solely as a textbook for deal making, you will miss the bigger picture. This is an autobiography of an exceptional individual who, even after all the trappings of success, still appears to be seeking answers. I hope he finds them.
I’ve always been wary of autobiographies: either those sequencing the format of a tough childhood, morphing into success, which spawns a litany of celebrity name-dropping mixed with a series of random anecdotes, or those where the author’s desire, either intentionally or because it’s human nature, is to apply a gloss to the facts to the point of fictionalising their reality. Whilst Mr Hands may well have applied a little blusher to his story where it suited, the overall impact of the narrative comprises brutal honesty, offers praise and criticism of his actions in equal measure and analyses decision-making in a clear and incisive fashion.
I lived through various emotions throughout his journey: fascination with his development during the formative years, admiration and excitement as he progressed through Goldman Sachs and Nomura – how stimulating to be a part of a team applying and adhering to a formula built around a strict set of maxims and rules – only to suffer disillusion, frustration and, even anger as we reach the turning point in his story.
As a pinstripe in the world of pop and rock in the 70s, I am familiar with the outcome of the EMI debacle, yet I found myself shouting at the pages, imploring him not to make the bid and override all those controls he had so meticulously put in place which had served him so well. There are two elements of the due diligence process I still don’t understand. Surely, if you’re being bulldozered into a deal, the suspicion must be the crap has been brushed under the carpet in the darkest room where the lightbulb is broken? And if, as Mr Hands says, people are the key to any private equity deal, it is inconceivable he did not see at the outset that trying to impose pinstripe governance, budgetary controls and financial disciplines on profligacy, Peter Pan personalities and the excuse of creative necessity to justify excess in all forms is like trying to mix oil and water. I can only conclude that having failed with two auction bids, he was determined not to lose another, and this driving force outweighed all other considerations.
The post EMI period of the narrative, moving forward to the recent past is somewhat akin to the progression of Mr Hand’s favourite football team, Manchester United. If you equate the end of the EMI saga to Sir Alex’s departure, you have an organisation with money and talented individuals, some successes and disappointments, a loyal fan base anxious to repeat past glories and a series of would-be leaders who fall by the wayside as the years pass. The one difference is whereas United appear to be rudderless, Mr Hands has a bullet list of ambitious personal goals yet to achieve – hopefully, not another oil and water combination.
My only disappointment was not to gain a better understanding of Mr Hand’s relationship with his family during the years of his obsession with business. Apart from his sincere dedication, the appearance of Julia and the children in the narrative is so matter of fact as to represent them as two-dimensional characters. They appear at seasonal gatherings and on expensive, exotic holidays in places where there is no mobile phone signal – though I suspect Mr Hands had a satellite phone tucked away in his knapsack. The one extract I found disturbing was when Mr Hands described having to invest sixty million of his money in Julia’s ailing business during the Covid crisis. Surely, it’s ‘our money’ in a marriage partnership or does Mr Hands really think in those terms?
I may exist in a different universe to Mr Hands, but I found his story intriguing, well-written and captivating. It will resonate with me for years to come.

'Seat Belts On.' Get Ready for the Ride

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Bland in parts. Not as much action as expected for such a large PE firm

Good solid book.

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