The Art of M&A Integration
A Guide to Merging Resources, Processes,and Responsibilties
By Alexandra Reed Lajoux
When companies merge it is usually with the expectation that, in the end, the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts. Unfortunately as evidenced by the AOL Time Warner merger, one plus one all too often moves shareholder returns to the wrong size of zero. The reason for failed M&As most commonly cited by the experts? Poor post-merger integration.
Since 1997, the number-one resource for professionals in search of practical solutions to the thousand-and-one integration issues that can make or break a merger has been The Art of M&A Integration.
How can we avoid losing key employees? Which financial statements may be consolidated following a merger or acquisition? How can we preserve brand identity during the integration process? What's the best way to merge management structures? What are the biggest challenges to IT integration? How can we retain loyal customers following a merger?
Like its acclaimed predecessor, this second edition of Alexandra Reed Lajoux's classic guide provides complete, straightforward answers to these and every other common post-merger integration question. Based on extensive interviews with fifty of today's top experts, it advises you on how, and just as importantly, when to manage every contingency. It shows you how to develop a detailed post-merger integration plan, and arms you with checklists, calendars, flow charts, and other valuable tools to help smooth the transition. It also supplies you with an array of sample documents, including accounting forms, contracts, financial statements, legal agreements, and more. And, with the help of fascinating case studies of recent M&As--including Cingular-AT&T, Oracle-PeopleSoft, Nextel-Sprint, and Gillette-Procter & Gamble, to name just a few--it provides an unparalleled look inside some of the most notable successes and failures across industry sectors.
Thoroughly updated and revised, The Art of M&A Integration, Second Edition, features up-to-the-minute coverage of a variety of topics that have taken center stage over the past several years, including:
- New GAAP and FASB accounting rules
- The latest strategies for merging IT systems and processes
- Merging compensation plans
- New listing rules on the NASDAQ and NYSE
- The effect of Sarbanes-Oxley and new SEC regulations
- How recent mega-mergers are rewriting the book on M&A integration
- Cross-border integration issues impacting multinational M&As
From combining service operations to valuing trade secrets to merging pay systems, The Art of M&A Integration, Second Edition, supplies the expert insight, analysis, strategies and tools you need to successfully manage every aspect of a post-merger integration.
Execute a successful M&A integration with proven techniques from this completely revised classic
Culture clashes, misaligned information systems, customer defections, supply redundancies, conflicting management structures . . . these are just a few of the myriad corporate integration challenges that can scuttle even the most promising merger or acquisition. Your best defense against having your best-laid plans go up in smoke due to poor post-merger integration is The Art of M&A Integration, Second Edition.
Based on interviews with fifty leading experts, it provides the insights, strategies and tools needed to successfully manage every facet of a post-merger integration. In a convenient Q&A format, this fully-updated edition of Alexandra Lajoux's classic arms you with:
- Fascinating and instructive case studies of recent M&As both large and small
- Step-by-step guidance on how to develop a detailed integration plan
- Checklists, calendars, and other powerful tools to smooth the transition
- Up-to-the-minute coverage of the latest accounting rules and SEC regulations
- Dozens of sample legal and financial forms and documents
- Multinational M&A integration tips and tricks
- Expert insights into key ethical and relationship issues
- And much more
From reviews of the first edition:
“An indispensable guide for the greenest rookie and the most senior deal maker on the most critical part of putting two companies together. Covers every integration issue that needs attention.”
--Michael L. Davis, Vice President, Human Resources, General Mills
“Alex Lajoux travels beneath the surface to examine the true challenges and opportunities inherent in M&A integration. She provides great insight into the ethical and relationship issues and shows readers how to assess the post-merger environment and make informed decisions throughout the process.”
--Susan B. Lione, Vice President, Knowledge Assessment, The Institute of Internal Auditors
“Not only is this work an excellent overview of the complex myriad of issues arising out of corporate mergers, but it is also a superb summary of the major trends now impacting modern corporate governance.”
--Professor Charles M. Elson, University of Delaware
About the Author
Alexandra Reed Lajoux is chief knowledge officer of the National Association of Corporate Directors. She was the editor of Director's Monthly, Mergers & Acquisitions magazine, Export Today, and Export Monthly, and she coauthored (with Stanley Foster Reed) the seminal book, The Art of M&A.