Post-Merger Integration
A Successful Merger is a Planned Merger: “Ideally, you start planning as soon as you decide to buy something. If you have no plan for the target company, you risk paying the wrong price and you won't be ready to handle the integration…”
Opportunities to create value from M&A activity are often lost because the deal logic and primary sources of integration value are not clear from the outset resulting in no clear priorities for the integration and, down the line, an inability to determine whether the integration targets have been met.
Uncoordinated activities, poorly managed process and systems integration and unclear communications can have a significant detrimental impact on both the core businesses and the integration program.
Clearly articulating the deal logic (sources of value add and risks) is a key success factor for the transaction and creates the base for setting individual and team accountabilities and underpins progress reporting and integration program governance.
Our approach to merger integration is to develop the target operating model (TOM) for the merged business with key people from both organizations. Developing the TOM in this way highlights quick wins, risk areas and builds a one-team approach to the merger.
The TOM guides prioritization decisions, allocation of responsibilities and progress reporting and allows momentum to be maintained in the core business.