5 Capabilities and Custom Design Requirements
by Mark Herndon, Chairman Emeritus, M&A Leadership Council, with contributions by Mark Juergens
A close friend, client and colleague – one who is deeply experienced in both M&A and divestitures – often coaches his team to remember “divestitures are not acquisitions spelled backwards.” We wholeheartedly agree, and if ....
The Art of M&A® / Due Diligence: How Extensive Should Due Diligence Be?
An excerpt from The Art of M&A Due Diligence, Second Edition: Navigating Critical Steps and Uncovering Crucial Data by Alexandra Reed Lajoux and Charles M. Elson
How far a buyer wishes to go in the due diligence process depends in part on how much time the buyer has and how much money it has to investigate the company it wishes to buy. This will depend to some extent on the status .....
What Begins to Happen After Day One
by Vadim Gringolts, CTO, Binary Tree
As it relates to corporate email systems, Day One is focused on enabling the employees of the merging organizations to transparently send and receive email internally and externally, as well as schedule meetings, with everyone in both organizations.
The Art of M&A® / Integration: Harmonization of Post-Merger Compensation Plans
An excerpt from The Art of M&A, Fifth Edition: A Merger, Acquisition, and Buyout Guide by Alexandra Reed Lajoux
Why would a newly combined company want to have different pay plans for its units? Because the units may have very different pay environments. Base pay may differ from industry to industry for similar jobs.......
Take a Layered Approach to Understanding the Target's True Culture
by Mark Herndon, Chairman Emeritus, M&A Leadership Council
Almost every M&A study completed since the beginning of time has consistently determined two key findings. First, that culture matters; and second, that acquirers are generally ill-equipped at cultural due diligence.
Paranoia: Running Scared Can be an M&A Best Practice
By Jack Prouty, Past President, M&A Leadership Council
Successful mergers and acquisitions hinge on creating value and mitigating risk. Working in M&A over the last 30 years has taught me the high value of being paranoid. Many challenges will crop up throughout any deal: from diligence, to integration .......
The Buyer's Perspective
Written by Chittur P. Narayan, Principal Director of M&A Integration Management at CBRE, Inc.
Carve-outs are among the most complex transactions. This is especially true when the carve-out involves the sale of a business unit that is operationally integrated with the rest of the parent company’s business. In such transactions, the seller may be......
Stabilization, Integration and Optimization in M&A
by Jack Prouty, Past President, M&A Leadership Council
One of the riskiest days in the life of an M&A, and in fact often THE riskiest day, is when the deal is first announced. Immediate reaction of the various stakeholders (employees, customers, strategic partners and financial shareholders) is fear, concern, uncertainty.
The Art of M&A® / Due Diligence: Precedent Transactions Analysis
An excerpt from The Art of M&A, Fifth Edition: A Merger, Acquisition, and Buyout Guide by Alexandra Reed Lajoux
Unfortunately, there are some limitations to using comparable transactions to estimate the value of a target. Here again, precedent transactions share several of these disadvantages with their comparable company brethren.
What Workstream Leads Need to Develop to Improve Deal Success
by Stephanie Snyder, Senior Partner, M&A Partners
M&A is a team sport. Just like other team sports, it takes people with a variety of strengths, skills and knowledge to put a winning M&A team together. M&A success is heavily dependent upon top-down leadership to provide the strategy, guidance, governance....