M&A Horror Stories

An evening where the most memorable transactions provide the most valuable lessons

The M&A Club is partnering with Optionality to present the first edition of M&A Horror Stories, an interactive evening bringing together 150 entrepreneurs and professionals from the M&A ecosystem.

There is only one rule: share your best worst business acquisition or sale story.

Deals gone wrong, complex negotiations, last-minute surprises, human or strategic challenges… Behind these sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous situations are often the most valuable lessons.

Evening Program

5:00 p.m. — Drinks at the Midway

The evening will begin with a networking reception at the Midway, located on the ground floor of the Club Saint-James. Guests will then head upstairs for dinner.

During dinner — Les Dérangeants Live

Attend a live recording featuring Dominic Gagnon and Étienne Crevier, in collaboration with Optionality’s Exit Stories and Simon Leroux.

Entrepreneurs will share their best worst business acquisition or sale stories—and the lessons they learned along the way.

After dinner — The Professionals’ Open Mic

The evening will continue with an open mic hosted by Marc-André Nantais of Scotia Jarislowsky Fraser.

Lawyers, bankers, investors, accountants, advisors and entrepreneurs will be invited to take the stage. Each participant will have five minutes to explain what went wrong during a transaction—and, most importantly, what others can learn from it.

Do you have a great story to share—your own or a colleague’s? Email ugo@maclub.ca when registering and include a few details. We will contact you before the event to help prepare your contribution.

Reserve a table with your colleagues, clients or the people with whom you experienced one of these transactions. After all, you may not all remember it the same way!

Event Details

Date
October 29, 2026

Time
5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Location
Club Saint-James
1145 Union Avenue
Montreal, Quebec H3B 3C2

The evening includes
Networking reception, full dinner and open bar.

Pricing

Individual tickets, half-tables for five participants and full tables for ten participants are available.

• Table for 10 with visibility — Member rate: $2,500

• Table for 10 with visibility — Non-member rate: $2,950

• Half-table for 5 with visibility — Member rate: $1,250

• Half-table for 5 with visibility — Non-member rate: $1,475

• Individual ticket — Member rate: $225

• Individual ticket — Non-member rate: $295

We look forward to welcoming you to the first edition of M&A Horror Stories.