Off Mandate: M&A in Asia
No scripts. No presentations. No polished “best practices.”
Off Mandate puts three practitioners who actually run deals across Asia in an unscripted conversation. No slide decks. No prepared remarks. Just real operators talking through the decisions that don't have clean answers.
Together, Mannu, KM, and Jake cover 30+ countries across Asia Pacific. Their industries span industrial gases, automotive manufacturing, and fintech. Their deal environments are completely different. The tensions they surface are real.
The goal: real debate, real disagreements, real lessons. Not polished talking points.
This Off Mandate conversation covers: pipeline sourcing, seller behavior across markets, thesis discipline, and the regulatory complexity that doesn't show up in any framework. No slides. No scripts. Final segment off-record.
Drop your deal dilemma in the Q&A. The panel will react live.
What You'll Learn
How experienced practitioners source pipeline in markets where targets are invisible to databases and stay off the radar by design
Why seller behavior in China, India, and Southeast Asia requires a completely different approach to the opening conversation
What questions have to be answered before issuing a non-binding in a market where target data is sparse
How to use diligence to validate a thesis rather than find one in regions where you're working with limited comparable data
What keeps deals from stalling at final approval when stakeholders haven't been brought along through the process
Where integration planning enters the picture in Asian market transactions and who owns it
How the current cross-border regulatory environment across Asia has changed deal execution
How the Audience Participates
Q&A box: Drop your scenario or question anytime. Best format: what you're dealing with → what's stuck → what you need to decide.
Raise your hand: We'll bring select audience members on to speak directly.
Priority goes to: Specific, real situations over general questions. We want to help you solve something, not just talk about it.
About the Co-Hosts
Kison Patel – Founder, M&A Science | Chairman, DealRoom
Kison built DealRoom to ~$10M ARR and has led M&A execution across hundreds of transactions. He founded M&A Science to extract and share the patterns strong buyers use to win deals, turning practitioner experience into searchable, reusable intelligence.
Mannu Sangganeria - Director, M&A at Linde
Director of M&A at Linde, a global leader in industrial gases, based in Singapore. She covers 15 countries across Asia Pacific and supports cross‑border deal activity with U.S.-based leadership. She has led transactions across China, South Asia, and Southeast Asia with a perfect investment committee approval record, and brings a Chartered Accountant background with 15+ years in corporate finance.
(KM) Kwang Meng Eng - Head of Integration Management Office, Asia Pacific at Schaeffler
KM is currently leading integration activities for the Schaeffler-Vitesco merger across the region. Previously spent nine years at BASF across post-merger integration, carve-out, and M&A deal work in Asia Pacific. Has managed integrations with total budgets exceeding $1M USD each. Deep expertise in cross-border integration across multi-jurisdiction environments.
Jake Lin - VP, Head of Corporate Development and Capital Strategy at Xendit
Jake Lin is VP, Head of Corporate Development and Capital Strategy at Xendit, a leading fintech platform operating across six markets in Southeast Asia. Leads regional inorganic strategy, principal investments, and capital deployment. Former investment banking VP in technology M&A at Harris Williams and Union Square Advisors. Background includes global investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Recording & Participation Guidelines
This session will be recorded for the M&A Science member library.
Disclaimer: Everyone participates in an individual capacity, not on behalf of any company. This discussion is for educational purposes only and does not represent legal, financial, or professional advice.
Please don’t share confidential or sensitive company information. (Keep scenarios real, but keep details clean.)
Member Access
M&A Science members get:
Full session recording access inside the Membership library
Session takeaways (key insights organized for practitioners)
Access to the broader M&A Science member library (plays, templates, and real-world frameworks)
If you want access: Become an M&A Scientist. Join the community of the best practitioners in M&A.
→ Membership: $995/year → mascience.com/membership
FAQs
Who is this for?
Corp dev professionals and deal leaders who've run acquisitions and want to hear how their peers actually handle the hard stuff. This is not an intro-level session — the format assumes deal experience.
Is this a webinar?
No. Off Mandate is an unscripted roundtable series. No slides, no presentations, no moderated Q&A format. It's a debate between practitioners. Kison facilitates; the guests drive it.
Will the recording be available?
Yes. The recording will be available in DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, for members. Non-members can register to attend live. The off-record segment is live-only and will not be published.
How do I submit a question?
Submit your question at registration. Kison reviews submissions and may bring selected questions into the conversation live.
Is this free?
This event is free, but recordings are only accessible in DealPilot. Membership is $995/year at mascience.com/membership.
What is DealPilot, powered by M&A Science?
DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, is the deal guidance layer for buy-side teams — practitioner-built playbooks, frameworks, certification programs, and primary source intelligence from 400+ practitioners who have actually run the deals. $995/year at mascience.com/membership.