1. Insights
  2. M&A Blog and News

M&A Blog and News

Have You Invited HR to the M&A Deal Table?

August 23, 2017

Four Reasons to Give Them a Seat
By Jim Jeffries, Chairman of the M&A Leadership Council

As M&A professionals, we’re all familiar with the statistics about deal failure rates. And at the root of these failed deals, you’ll often find people and culture issues that could have been anticipated and addressed if HR leaders had been included on the deal team. The best serial acquirers have learned (sometimes the hard way) that it’s important to make HR a part of an interdisciplinary deal team.

Avoiding Integration Disaster through Deal-Type DNA

August 10, 2017

We talk a lot about various failure factors from a standpoint of helping executives recognize what to do and not do in the midst of a live and fast-moving deal. For my two cents, avoiding an epic failure during integration begins with a clear understanding of what we like to call "Deal-type DNA," or the fundamental code of what really drives value in a given transaction.

What Does It Take to Be Great at M&A Program and Project Management?

August 2, 2017

A Modern Model of Competencies and Responsibilities

That’s a question we get from a lot of organizations which are attempting to improve their M&A capabilities and develop their internal M&A resources. First, let’s talk about the differences between M&A Program Management and M&A Project Management. While both are essential to integration success, the roles and responsibilities of classic Program Managers and Project Managers are distinct. 

What REALLY Happened to Daimler-Chrysler?

July 30, 2017

Winston Churchill once cautioned, “Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it." So today we’ll take a quick look at one of the most famous M&A disasters in history as a means to keep us focused on skills and insights for future integration success. And I’d be willing to bet that in spite of all the media coverage this deal has received over the years, you’ve never heard the biggest mistake Daimler made…

Consequences of Inadequate Strategic Framework for M&A Integration

July 29, 2017

Have you ever heard the phrase “put the moose on the table?” That’s a humorous way of saying it’s time for a group to finally deal with the big, hairy issue everyone’s been putting off. A consultant friend and mentor of mine has an even better way of making that same point -- “let’s get the skunk on the table.” And today, that’s exactly what we are going to do by looking at the hard, stinking truth about what happens when executives fail to provide adequate strategic directional guidance prior to launching integration.

The Art of the Spin-Off

July 28, 2017

Spin-Offs Offer Opportunities for High-Value Growth
by Jim Jeffries, Chairman, M&A Leadership Council

In the recent past, more corporations are managing their businesses as a portfolio with many moving parts rather than attempting to grow into static behemoth brands.  Therefore spin-offs have become a type of divestiture that is just as strategic for high value growth as acquisitions.  A spin-off is a form of divestiture that typically can generate new value by demerging current business units back to shareholders in order to operate them more independently. 

The "True North" of Culture

July 28, 2017

(Fifth in a Series on Culture)

Top Ten Breakthrough Practices in M&A

July 27, 2017

What if your CEO or Chairman of the Board called you out of the blue and said, “We have to get better at M&A integration. What are the most important priority improvements we need to make to have the biggest impact on business results?”

What would you say?

“Um, I’ll get back to you on that” would probably be a career-limiting answer. So would “pat answers” about culture, communications and speed of integration. These later responses would be entirely correct, by the way, but probably wholly insufficient for the moment.