Chairman’s Message – February 2021
By Mark Herndon, Chairman of the M&A Leadership Council
M&A is changing--accelerating--becoming more complex.
With substantial capital available, acquirers are anticipating greater deal volume and more competition among potential buyers, especially more experienced or more agile private equity or SPAC buyers. Many active acquirers are doing multiple, simultaneous, and overlapping deals; often with different deal-types, structures and with varying degrees of risk and integration challenges.
Internally, the challenges are no less significant. Given the OpEx constraints and resource draw-downs driven by COVID, putting the right people on deals, due diligence and integration may be more challenging than ever. Finally, many acquirers are still working from internal MA&D processes or skill sets that are less than mature - or not up to the task of delivering consistently outstanding results, deal after deal.
That’s why we are asking the question – is now the time to implement purpose-built M&A software (“MASW”)? In M&A, there’s no such thing as a silver bullet. To be sure, without ALL of the essential components of a mature and effective internal MA&D capability, a haphazardly selected or poorly implemented MASW is likely nothing more than a waste of money or an unplanned opportunity to seek your next new career opportunity. (Note: for more information on the components of an effective and mature internal MA&D process, please see, Keep Moving Forward to MA&D Readiness.)
However, for those organizations with an effective internal MA&D capability and committed to accelerating and improving MA&D results, we hypothesize that MASW will likely support your objectives if you do it right.
Here are three important resources to help you and your organization make a fully informed decision about MASW.
- Webinar – Realize the ROI in M&A Software Solutions. We are honored to have a truly distinguished panel for this important discussion. Guests include Nick Perdikis, CEO and CRO, Devensoft; Alan Croll, CEO & Chairman, ENKOW, Inc; Ari Salonen, CEO, Midaxo; and John Bender, President of M&A Partners.
- Online Training Event – The Art of M&A® Executing Integration for Maximum Results. This outstanding learning event is one of the most popular and provides a comprehensive M&A Lifecycle Framework. It identifies best practices and how to’s in over 20 essential requirements across each phase of the lifecycle that are mission critical for achieving maximum results through the integration process. This event includes a key module on best practices for M&A Playbooks and building internal M&A capabilities, including purpose-built M&A software.
- Article – The Smart Approach to Selecting a Fit-for-Purpose M&A Software Solution. This article is the best I have read on how to select the RIGHT purpose-built M&A software solution for your organization. It is based on a comprehensive understanding of how you want and need the MASW to automate YOUR process and approach vs. a mere demonstration of vendor features and benefits. An evaluation framework is provided along with a discussion of various deployment models, building support for the selection and usability from the internal M&A team and implementing for success.
See you at an upcoming event!
Very best regards,
Mark Herndon
Chairman, M&A Leadership Council