The Atlanta meeting of M&A International Inc., a global alliance of mid-market merger and acquisition specialists, provided the catalyst for the “Growing Opportunities in a Shrinking World” event to be co-hosted with the Atlanta chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth on Thursday, April 16.

BDO Seidman LLP tax partner Katherine Morris, who is the current president of the Atlanta chapter of the association, credited Alexander Mammen, managing director of Atlanta-based TM Capital Corp. and a member of M&A International, with proposing the event.

M&A International holds conferences for its members in different locations around the world every six months and the upcoming one in Atlanta provided the opportunity for the two organizations to work together.

Ms. Morris expects 250 to 300 attendees from many different countries including panelists Attilio Arietti, founder and managing partner of Arietti & Partners, a boutique investment-banking firm based in Turin, Italy;

Murray Beach, managing director of TM Capital Corp.’s Technology Group in Boston; Hans Bethge, managing partner of Angermann M&A International GmbH based in Hamburg, Germany; Howard Leigh, founder of Cavendish Corporate Finance and senior treasurer of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom and Mr. Mammen.

Despite global economic difficulties, cross-border transactions of all sorts are alive and well, according to Ms. Morris and panelists interviewed by GlobalAtlanta, including acquisitions, divestitures funding and joint ventures. Last year, M&A International accounted for 258 transactions amounting to $16.9 billion.

During a multinational conference call with GlobalAtlanta, Mr. Bethge said that the Southeast U.S. was well known in Germany as a target for automobile-related investments.

But German environmental firms, he said, also were looking at the area and the U.S. more generally. A prime motivator for this interest, he added, is the Obama administration’s “green umbrella” policy, encouraging the development of alternative energy sources and new ways of conserving energy.

On the other hand, opportunities abounded outside of the U.S. as well, according to the conference call participants. Mr. Leigh pointed to the collapse of British sterling, providing at the moment attractive currency plays.

They concurred that mergers and acquisitions are ideal ways of entering new markets. While Asia’s rapid development continues to provide opportunities, all the conference call participants underscored the attractiveness of Eastern European markets at to the moment.

These financial experts and others will be involved in four panels titled: “Invading Our Shores: Global Interest in U.S. Acquisitions;” “Thinking Globally: Developing and Executing an International Acquisition Strategy;” “Landmines – Common Mistakes in Cross-Border M&A;” and “Beyond China – Investing in Emerging Markets.”

A.D. “Pete” Correll, chairman of the Atlanta Equity Group and chairman emeritus of Georgia-Pacific Corp., is to provide the opening remarks as a keynote speaker and Thomas D. Bell Jr., chairman and CEO of Cousins Properties Inc., is to be the featured speaker at a dinner.

The cost to attend the event is $150. For more information, call (770) 991-2170 or send an email to acgatlanta@informedhorizons.com

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