Chairman's Message - April 2018

Success Can Require Counterintuitive Practices
By Jim Jeffries, Chairman at M&A Leadership Council 

There’s nothing like the emotional rush of having a high-risk investment pay off. That’s especially true with M&A. You’ve labored over negotiations, executed due diligence; and now you are the proud owner of a new business. But your shiny new acquisition can make the existing enterprise vulnerable. I’m not telling you something that you don’t already know, but it’s worth restating: successful merger integration is unlike anything else you do in your business, often even counterintuitive to standard business practices and tenets. No matter your passion for this acquisition, no matter how thorough the diligence, no matter the goodness of the deal—if you don’t integrate well, you will have paid too much, talent and customers will dwindle, and the stock price will suffer.

There are so many moving parts that can comprise either company. Detailed planning with a focus on the Pre-announce, Pre-close and Post-close phases—along with the proper Integration team structure, decision-making protocols and a consistent eye on S3 (Speed, Synergies and Stability)—can make all the difference.

Join me in San Diego and learn what I mean. Attend our most popular training program, The Art of M&A Integration, where among other best practices in the integration process, we discuss various nuanced practices such as the growing importance of addressing cybersecurity; the difference between culture and business model and why it matters; and many other areas of risk facing the M&A community. You will learn from our expert presenters as they use real-world experience to highlight some of the more complex aspects of integration and share the secrets of navigating through them successfully. Spots fill up quickly, so register today. You won’t want to miss this opportunity.

We hope to see you there!

Jim Jeffries
Chairman