William Blair, which completed 60 M&A transactions totaling $12.8 billion in 2011, was named Mergers & Acquisitions magazine’s Investment Bank of the Year. Despite a difficult financing market, William Blair’s M&A team posted a 38% increase in its M&A deal volume. In this article, William Blair’s global head of M&A, Mark Brady, specifically discusses the Sonic and Bi-Lo transactions, and the importance of quick execution in a volatile stock market.