Don’t Delay Go-to-Market Decisions
By Jim Jeffries, Chairman of the M&A Leadership Council

Why do so many deal leaders seem to ignore questions about customer engagement, marketing and brand strategy? Critical revenue stabilization or upside capture tends to gain attention post close rather than during the diligence or integration planning phases.

What makes a truly effective M&A program manager? We get asked that question a lot by executives interested in hiring the best-of-the best for this important role in M&A. Frankly, we are delighted by that question because it gets at the core of a long-overlooked, often disparaged, but mission critical capability that any serious acquirer must consistently “hit out of the park” on every deal.

Global Mining Sector Absolutely Digging Barrick-Newmont Fisticuffs
Submitted by Acuris, a partner of the M&A Leadership Council 

In hockey, a good fistfight can be a game changer.

The same goes for mining, where the world’s largest gold producer, Barrick Gold, got everyone’s attention with an $18 billion hostile bid for No. 2 player Newmont Mining.

Press Release - Prophet Joins the M&A Leadership Council 
Submitted by M&A Leadership Council 

DALLAS – March 12, 2019 – The M&A Leadership Council today announced that Prophet has joined the Council as the Growth and Brand Strategy training partner.

Divestitures: Expanding Your Tool Kit for Business Excellence
By Jim Jeffries, Chairman of the M&A Leadership Council

The “Best of Breed” companies are constantly evolving in response to market changes and competitive challenges. A key part of the constant repositioning of the business for success is making strategic acquisitions, but just as important is reassessing their existing portfolio of businesses and making smart  decisions regarding divestitures and carve-outs.

Healthcare MA&D
Submitted by Acuris, a partner of the M&A Leadership Council 

According to an analysis by Mergermarket, an Acuris company, the top US city for healthcare M&A is Boston. It emerged as the clear capital for the sector, with 93 Boston-based companies sold between 2015 and 2018.

Adapted from The Complete Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions: Process Tools to Support M&A Integration at Every Level, Third Edition (Jossey Bass / John Wiley) by Tim Galpin and Mark Herndon

Years ago, a mentor of mine who was an accomplished big-game trophy hunter commented, “When trophy hunting, the fun is pretty much over once you pull the trigger.” To many executives, the same could be said of M&A deals, in that it is typically easier to close a deal than to integration one.

Is This the Hand You Want to Have?
By Jack Prouty, President of the M&A Leadership Council

It is considered a given that deal-makers want to achieve M&A success, but occasionally I witness behavior that challenges this assumption. I so often write articles about how to be successful; however, it is also important to think about what brings you to failure.

The Biggest Challenges for HR in Mergers and Acquisitions
By Jim Jeffries, Chairman of the M&A Leadership Council

A couple of weeks ago, I attended our training program for Human Resource executives and had a chance to do a quick interview with 3 of our presenters: a global HR specialist, an attorney specializing in cross-border M&A and an HR specialist for post-merger integration. I asked each of them what they saw as the biggest challenges in their respective arena.  Here is what they had to say:

Dealmaking Continued at an Encouraging Rate
Submitted by Acuris, a partner of the M&A Leadership Council 

Mergermarket, an Acuris company, has released its Global M&A roundup for 2018, including its financial advisors league tables, and with so many market-moving factors fluctuating throughout the year, mergers and acquisitions have understandably had a somewhat ambivalent 2018.