Pubicis and Omnicom have called off their proposed $35 billion merger that would have created the largest advertising agency in the world. According to reports, Publicis CEO Maurice Levy and Omnicom CEO John Wren disagreed over many details, including filling key management positions and corporate structure. This comes as no surprise to me. Ten months …
Tag: Integration
Due Diligence and Integration – From Research to Action
Due diligence and integration fit hand in glove. Simply put, due diligence is the research and integration is the action. For example, due diligence and integration work hand-in-hand when you address benefits, such as healthcare, vacation, tuition reimbursement, paid time off, subsidized cafeteria plans and other perks. Deciding what to do with them is one …
Merger Madness: Three Tips for Success
In 2013, we saw interesting mergers & acquisitions across multiple industries, ranging from hot tech deals like Yahoo’s $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr to the rescue of favorite food brand Twinkies from bankruptcy by Metropolous & Co. and Apollo Global Management. While the potential synergies of the two companies are always laid out, not much is said …
Due Diligence: The Three Buckets of Critical Information
In performing due diligence, I recommend you look not only for risks but also for opportunities. That’s how I approach due diligence for our Capstone clients. As we examine the seller’s operations and books, we place every new discovery in one of three color-coded “buckets:” Red Bucket: Deal Changers. This is information that materially alters …
Successfully Integrating Different Cultures
Cultural alignment while integrating two companies is a hot topic in the M&A world. For instance, CFO.com recently quoted Jonathan Chadwick as saying, “The number-one reason I think deals fail is because there was not an agreement or a matching of cultures.” Should you have any doubts, read about Kidder-Peabody inside of GE. Those cultures …
Publicis-Omnicom Merger May Face Cultural Integration Challenges
The merger between two advertising giants Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Group has caused quite a stir. The two companies combined to form Publicis Omnicom Group would have stock-market value of $35.1 billion, making this the largest advertising merger ever. Although Chief Executive Maurice Levy and CEO John Wren both stress this is a “merger of …
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 …
