“We should have growth as a national goal, and for that, we need the ambition to grow and scale up. Rather than discriminating against large companies in favour of small ones, it is important to understand that large companies can accelerate medium-sized ones and create a virtuous cycle of growth and economic contribution,” argued the president of the José Mello group on Wednesday, the 22nd. Vasco de Mello, speaking at the M&A - Consolidating to Grow conference, promoted by DN and PwC, said that Portugal is a country of “small players” regarding the size of its business fabric, but that it is the large companies that carry the most weight in contributing to the economy. “We need to take the contribution of large companies more into account,” he reiterated. During his speech on a panel under the theme “Consolidating to grow”, the businessman highlighted that company scale is only a relevant factor if it is intrinsically associated with value creation. “Scale is important, but only in the perspective that it creates conditions to attract talent, pay better wages, and have a higher level of capabilities and skills. It allows for investment in process modification, innovation, and internationalisation. Ultimately, scale must create value; it is not an objective in itself,” he listed. For Vasco de Mello, “there are no magic turnover numbers” that define ambition. “I have known small companies that had the capacity to attract talent,” he exemplified. The president of the group that owns companies such as Brisa, Bondalti, and CUF acknowledged that, in the chapter of mergers, the biggest challenge is creating a common culture. “The issue of execution must be very clear, and how we will manage to make two companies result in more than the sum of their parts. You need to have a very clear idea of how the necessary changes for the transition will be implemented,” he noted. The manager also defended the importance of ensuring corporate governance with an adequate structure featuring “diversity, knowledge, and the capacity to ensure a solid foundation.” “It is a factor that distinguishes an operation that succeeds from one that does not,” he stressed. The Portuguese Development Bank plans to inject more than 30 billion into the economy over the next three years. António Esteves: “Portugal is an interesting playground for private equity.”