“The best opportunities are the ones we’re pursuing and not the other way around.” This comment in The Wall Street Journal from Smadar Levi, CFO of MyHeritage.com, is one I wholeheartedly agree with. She is quoted in an article about the growing number of startups seeking to be acquired. With fewer financing options available to …
Tag: acquisitions
The Greatest Hurdle Facing Tech Mergers
The biggest tech M&A disasters were the Time Warner-AOL $350 billion merger and Google’s $12.3 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility. In my observations, the greatest hurdle facing tech mergers is integration. Even where the strategy of the acquisition is solid, if the integration of the two workforces and assets is not executed properly, it will fail. Even …
Lessons From the Suntory – Beam Acquisition
Japan’s Suntory is making a big investment in buying the makers of Jim Beam for $13.6 billion. Jim Beam is a highly branded U.S. company and this deal is second largest acquisition of a U.S. company by a Japanese buyer. The underlying concept is the folks in Japan have recognized their domestic markets are not …
What Consolidation Means for the Middle Market
Last week, Sysco announced it would buy rival US Foods for nearly $3.5 billion. Sysco is already a huge player in the food industry with customers ranging from the US military to schools to five-star restaurants. This deal brings together the two largest food distributors in the US, increasing Sysco’s share of the food distribution …
Do You Need a M&A Advisor?
From my perspective of largely successful acquisitions, most acquisitions end in failure because they are missing a third-party advisor. A third-party advisor can play an irreplaceable role on your acquisition team as an ‘‘outside insider’’ who can unearth hidden intelligence, resolve stubborn conflicts, help cooler heads prevail, and maintain a strategic perspective from beginning to …
Why Do Acquisitions Fail?
Acquisitions fail for reasons that range from lack of compelling strategic rationale to inadequate due diligence to conflicting cultures. I think many would say acquisitions fail because too much was paid for them. While overpaying is certainly a reason for failure, I would not say it is the top reason. In my experience, I have …
Can We Expect More Private Equity Transactions?
Neiman Marcus has been sold by private equity groups TPG and Warburg Pincus for $6 billion to Canadian PE firm Ares Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Group (CPPIB). TPG and Warburg filed for an IPO earlier this summer but kept their options open, Forbes reports. This transaction is not really surprising given the conditions …
Negotiation: Take Notes!
I cannot overemphasize the importance of writing everything down during negotiations. Once an item has been discussed and decided upon, have someone from each party initial the notes to confirm the completion. Maintaining a written record helps to keep everyone on the same page. Without such a record, you run the danger of having two …
From Beginning to Beginning
When I am teaching M&A, I often use the phrase ‘‘from beginning to beginning.’’ I am signaling a difference from the more familiar phrase ‘‘from beginning to end,’’ which suggests that once the deal is signed, the process is over. In my experience, the end of an M&A transaction marks the beginning of a whole …
Price Isn’t Everything
Are you considering an acquisition? Remember, when it comes to buying companies, especially privately held ones, the transaction is almost never about just the price. There is always something going on that falls outside the spreadsheets. Understanding that mysterious ‘‘something’’ is what can make or break your deal. The statistics are frightening. By most reckonings, …
