M&A Blog and News
August 24, 2023
The Art of M&A® / Due Diligence: Detecting Cybersecurity Risk
An excerpt from The Art of M&A, Fifth Edition: A Merger, Acquisition, and Buyout Guide by Alexandra Reed Lajoux
Cybersecurity audits should be a very comprehensive review of the existing digital environment of the target company that includes a wide variety of different platforms and tools.1 IT infrastructure, including firewalls, firewall rules, intrusion detection.....
August 21, 2023
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 ....
August 15, 2023
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 .....
August 10, 2023
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.
August 1, 2023
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.......
July 27, 2023
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.
July 24, 2023
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 .......
July 22, 2023
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......