Middle market companies have faced many challenges to growth, but the tide is now turning. Previously, we had observed the dumbbell effect, where at either end of the spectrum massive corporations and small businesses flourished while middle market companies were caught in between. Unlike large multinational corporations, many middle market companies cannot leverage the same …
Category: M&A and External Growth
What Do You Have to Offer an Owner?
“Why should I let you buy my company?” Chances are an owner will ask you this question during the course of your acquisition and you must have a convincing answer. While the strategic fit and benefits of an acquisition may be abundantly clear to you, an owner may not share your perspective. As a leader, …
What Is a Company Really Like? Uncovering the Truth in Due Diligence
During due diligence most companies will present you with their formal documents including HR manuals, procedures, financials and organizational charts. It’s not enough to rely on these documents alone; if you want to know what a company is really like, you’ll have to dig a bit deeper. One way to go beyond the surface is …
Walmart Acquires Jet.com: Integration Strategies for Buyers
Walmart will acquire web retailer Jet.com for $3.3 billion in order to boost its online business. The deal is the largest ever purchase of U.S. e-commerce startup. While Walmart has plenty of bricks and mortar stores, the company has struggled to grow its online business. Walmart knows it needs to be competitive with Amazon who …
3 Ways to Maintain Momentum from LOI to Close
After signing a letter of intent, you expect the deal to close, but there are a number of reasons acquisitions fail ranging from regulatory hurdles to unexpected challenges that arise during due diligence to cultural clashes. In my last post, I discussed reasons deals fall apart even after both parties sign a LOI. Here are …
3 Reasons Deals Fall Apart Post Letter of Intent
Remember that just because a deal is announced, it doesn’t mean it will go through. A record number of M&A transactions announced in 2015 have been cancelled bringing the total deal value down from $4.374 trillion to $78 billion. Unfortunately cancelled deals mean a lot of time, resources and effort were wasted putting together these …
Are Sunk Costs Driving Your Acquisition?
You’ve spent a lot of time, energy and money on an acquisition…but should you still go through with it? In answering this question, it can be tempting to cite the amount of resources that have already been invested as reasons to follow through with the deal, but this would be a mistake. These sunk costs …
M&A Update: 1H 2016 [Infographic]
After hitting record-high levels in 2015, global M&A activity dropped significantly in the first half of 2016. It was the slowest first six month period for global mergers and acquisitions in the past two years. The value of deals decreased from $2.03 trillion to $1.65 trillion (19%) while the number of deals decreased from 22,153 …
Remembering the Human Factor in M&A
For an owner of a privately-held company, the business is their baby and using hard-nosed tactics to negotiate for the lowest price is ill-advised. The human factor cannot be overlooked when pursuing M&A and establishing trust with an owner is critical. Buying a privately-held business is not like buying a car where you can negotiate the …
How to Be Successful in M&A: Think Integration
You’ve developed your strategy, identified the right markets, negotiated with the owner and papered the deal. If you think once you sign on the dotted line your job is done, you are mistaken. The M&A process doesn’t end when the deal closes. M&A is really a journey “from beginning to beginning” where the consummation of …
