Those words in a big, bold font literally jumped out at me from the bright yellow lapel buttons in the town hall meeting. There were dozens of them, and probably dozens more posted in cubicles throughout the building. That phrase, “Are you my boss?” was now, officially, a flashpoint of the worst sort.
M&A Blog and News
July 24, 2016
Chairman's Message, July 2016
By Jim Jeffries, Chairman, M&A Leadership Council
In our “Art of M&A for HR Leaders” programs, Willis Towers Watson headlines the training content presented by seasoned executives. This large, global organization is expert in the people issues that relate to value creation or erosion in mergers and acquisitions. Here are some people-related ...
July 24, 2016
Hesitancy Persists as M&A Markets Remain Volatile in Q2 2016
Contributed by Baker & McKenzie and Mergermarket, Partners of M&A Leadership Council
Headwinds that began to slow the progress of cross-border M&A in Q1 2016 continued to strengthen. Hesitancy persisted as global markets remained volatile: China’s slowdown showed no signs of abating; oil prices were still down despite recovering some ground; and political uncertainty....
July 24, 2016
Language, Clarity and Focus on Milestones are Critical
Contributed by Willis Towers Watson, a Partner of M&A Leadership Council
What should deal makers keep in mind when executing their integration strategy after closing an M&A transaction? For one thing: Be deliberate about the type of language you use to describe the deal. In this brief video, we share more tips for integration leaders...
July 24, 2016
Lesson Learned: Stabilize-Integrate-Optimize
By Jack Prouty, President, M&A Leadership Council
The following is a true story, based on my experiences with a client that I worked with over a decade ago. The lesson here highlights the phrase we often reiterate in “The Art of M&A Integration” workshop: Stabilize-Integrate-Optimize...
July 24, 2016
Defining Specific Attributes That Can Drive Higher-Performance Results
By Mark Herndon, President, M&A Partners
It’s time to talk about the “True North” of culture, those foundational values, beliefs and behaviors you must understand and embed in your organization if you want to drive high-performance results. Components included in the final bedrock level of our Cultural Iceberg model...
July 24, 2016
Retaining Key Employees While Managing Financial Risk
By Scott Oberstaedt, Willis Towers Watson, a Partner of M&A Leadership Council
Board of director approval is often the final stop for companies looking to make an acquisition offer, but it’s increasingly common for the compensation committee to be included in both the pre-announcement and pre-closing phases of major acquisitions. While mergers and acquisitions (M&A)...
July 24, 2016
Determining How Attractive European Assets Will be to Foreign Investors
Contributed by Intralinks, a Partner of M&A Leadership Council
Global dealmakers are likely to be extremely despondent this evening as European political boundaries shrink for the first time. According to Intralinks’ most recent M&A sentiment survey of almost 1,500 global dealmakers, the M&A community were very concerned about a ‘Brexit’, with 65% fearing...