by Jack Prouty
President, M&A Leadership Council

In order to help you build in-house M&A competencies and/or to jump-start the diligence or integration planning and team on-boarding process, the M&A Leadership Council has designed a number of training courses customized to the specific M&A needs of your company. The advantage of an in-house M&A training course is that between 10 and 30 of your people can be trained together with a specific focus on either your current acquisition project or the type of acquisitions your company is likely to make. Here are the most frequently requested in-house programs:

• M&A Team Readiness:  Companies requesting this training have typically set a strategy of growth through acquisitions, anticipate being serial acquirers, and want to build in-house M&A knowledge and expertise amongst the core team. The objectives are to build a base of skills and knowledge across the life cycle of an M&A; learn best practices and pitfalls to avoid; understand the process, methodologies and tools to use in the diligence and integration process. Think of this as a boot camp training program for those who will soon be thrown into the trenches of a “real” deal and need to be trained in advance for what needs to be done and what will be required of them.
   
• Due Diligence- Business Fit and Value Assessment:  This program is focused on just-in-time training for those who will be responsible for planning and conducting the due diligence on the target company. Typically companies do a good job on the legal and financial due diligence; however, it is assessing the strategic fit and business value of the acquisition where companies are looking for more training and education. A key aspect of this program is to break into functional groups and begin applying the nuance material, tools, and best practices introduced.
   
• Executive Jump-Start Integration Planning (i.e. Game Day Workshop):  In our public workshop we introduce this concept, which has been recognized by our attendees as a best practice. This executive planning workshop, ideally conducted prior to date of announcement, is centered on developing and designing the top-down strategy, framework and approach for the overall integration effort. It builds consensus within the management team as to the priorities and approach going forward; outlines the high level plan, structure and process; and makes the key strategic decisions for guiding the tactical integration efforts that follow in both the pre- and post-close.
   
• Functional Integration Team Training and Launch:  This event will set the strategic context for the overall integration effort;  fast-start the cross-company functional integration team for their roles and responsibilities in the integration planning and implementation activities; outline the process and structure by which the integration will be managed; introduce the tools to be used in the process; and review the key activities/deliverables to be performed during the pre- and post-close stages of the integration.

If you would like to learn more about these in-house training sessions and how we will work with you and your organization to develop a program that best meets your needs and objectives, contact Jack Prouty ([email protected]) or Jim Jeffries ([email protected]).