POST-TRANSACTION STRATEGIC ADVISORY SERVICES

Companies eager to acquire another business should not lose sight of the critical need to successfully integrate the new business post-merger. Planning for the post-acquisition integration must begin during the earliest stages of a deal and proceed in parallel with the due diligence and negotiation process.

There are many challenges to be surmounted if a transaction is going to pay off in long-term growth and expanded market share. Here are four best practices of integration planning that we focus on with our clients.

1. Starting the integration plan early. If you delay the integration planning until the ink is dry on the acquisition documents, you have fallen far behind the curve. The day after the deal is done is too late to start thinking about how the pieces will fit together. We identify in advance which parts of the newly merged business can be integrated whole, which need to be adapted, and which can be scrapped.
2. Prioritizing integration phases. You can’t expect every aspect of two dissimilar businesses to merge seamlessly from day one. Yet some business leaders try to force the issue and align everything right away. We help prioritize which are most important and tackle them first. Less important processes and systems can wait.
3. Adopting what works. There is a natural tendency to be biased toward the operational and business practices with which you are familiar. This can result in a push to change the ways the acquired company works to fit your model. But don’t be too quick to dismiss all that they do, as there may be some systems that merit adopting, rather than a forced adaptation. We help clients identify which processes and practices of the target company might add the most value to the merged entity.
4. Focusing on customers. Being focused on how the integration will work internally without assessing potential external impact is dangerous. Decisions made to speed the assimilation of a newly expanded organization may negatively affect customers, a mistake that can ill afford to be made. We assess and advise on what effect a merger could have on customers, vendors, financial relationships, and supply chain partners.

M&A can be a strategic part of your company’s growth and expansion plans. But planning for the post-deal future is vital to maximize the value you receive from each acquisition.