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M&A Blog and News

Culture in M&A: We Know It's Important, So Now What?

August 24, 2013

A Research Report by Mercer

Despite knowing that corporate culture is important, organizations still struggle with how best to convert an appreciation for cultural differences into a definitive plan of action for successfully executing a transaction.

According to Mercer's research, the most successful transactions engage senior leaders early in the process, which ensures a clear understanding of cultural differences and identifies and prioritizes actions that will inform, influence, and accelerate the integration effort.

The Value of Certainty - First in a Series

August 23, 2013

There is no doubt that the pursuit of certainty in M&A is on the rise.  With the advent of new rules and regulations pressing boards and corporate leadership, M&A deals are not only better scrutinized from the outside, but are being more deeply assessed from the inside.  In a recent article in WSJ CFO Journal, it was announced that only “2.1% of deals have been scuttled as of July 31 of this year”.  That is way down from a peak of 3.3% for the same period in 2009 for announced transactions.  Post-announcement withdrawals are down and the reason is the “rise of risk aversion by corpo

Facts & Stats: Aug 2013

August 22, 2013

H1 2013 Predicts Favorable M&A Deal Activity for H2

View from the Trenches: Mr. Best Practices

August 22, 2013

"Real Life" Success Stories, Best Practices & Case Studies

At our last workshop on The Art of M&A Integration, Mark Herndon, President of M&A Partners, shared an interesting story with us. This anecdote really resonated with me and bears repeating to this larger audience.

Avoiding Integration Disaster Through Deal-Type DNA

August 19, 2013

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. But not all failure factors are created equal, as they say.  For my two cents, avoiding an epic failure during integration all 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.

7 Critical Success Factors for Effective M&A Integration

August 12, 2013

 

Focusing on Key Elements in the Life Cycle of the M&A Deal
By Jack Prouty, President M&A Leadership Council 

Failure Can Occur at ANY Phase of the Process

August 5, 2013

There’s an old saying in the M&A business, “Bad planning and execution will kill a good deal every time, but the best diligence and integration will never save a bad deal.” For valid reasons, there’s so much attention placed on failure factors in due diligence and integration that the role of deal strategy in overall M&A success or failure is easy to overlook. The reality is that there are just as many strategy-related failure factors.

July 2013 Chairman's Message

July 31, 2013

It was a real joy to attend the recent Art of M&A Integration workshop in San Francisco, not from the eyes of a presenter, but from a participant’s viewpoint.  As usual, I opened and closed the session, but this time I took the chance to really observe our great presenters and take in the unique combination of experience, talent and rich content the Council brings to training in the niche of M&A.  In just three days the workshop attendees received the best information, tools, case studies and raw opinions one could hope to receive in a training environment.