Merger & Acquisition Services

The Inside Story on successfully integrating a series of high-profile acquisitions

A GLG client that is a growing division of a Fortune 500 company has successfully worked with us on a number of large initiatives. This division recently decided to acquire several companies as a means of augmenting its organic growth and expanding its presence in its markets. While the parent organization had made acquisitions in the past, this division had never made any. The division President wanted to “do it right,” and to create an internal working model for growth through acquisition.

The client asked GLG to work in partnership with a leading M&A consultancy that they had engaged to deal with market and business system integration. GLG’s assignment was to provide a range of services designed to integrate the “human systems” of the companies while helping them work through the broad, systemic implications of the acquisitions.

The President of the division has said, “The proactive leadership, insight and experience GLG brings to integrations helped us get out ahead of the curve and stay there.” He also noted that there was only one area where they ended up behind the curve, which was the one area in which GLG wasn’t directly involved. He summed up the value of our engagement as being a “turnkey solution for acquisitions.” This included significant work in the negotiation phase of the acquisitions as well as post-close integration work.

What follows are some of the specific comments made by the division President about the value of GLG’s work:

GLG did a comprehensive Cultural Diagnostic that provided:

• A clear and objective view of “what’s so.”
  
• An identification of concerns and opportunities as seen by key players representing all major functions (sales, marketing, manufacturing, operations, etc.) within the acquired and acquiring organizations.
  
• The ability to expedite negotiations and come to agreement during the pre-acquisition phase.
  
• Clear, strategic and tactical recommendations regarding actions that needed to be taken proactively, which led to appropriate allocation of incremental resources, the customization of business models, rapid alignment within functions, how to address long term retention in the acquired company, and how to maintain focus and morale so as not to lose sight of business results during acquisition and integration.
  
• A customized communication plan, along with written letters, memos, presentations and talking points for both the acquiring and acquired companies.

Early and high levels of trust were established across both organizations at the level of individuals and functions, which led to:

• The identification of potential issues before they became a problem.
  
• A constructive framework for ongoing resolution which allowed for mutual honesty and respect, and the prompt delivery of both good and bad news with little or no damage to relationships and business processes.

The formation and facilitation of a number of specialized teams, including an Integration Steering Team, Functional Integration Teams, Integration Management Roles and Ongoing Coaching Relationships, which allowed for the transfer of:

• The “know how” GLG has regarding formulation of teams and roles during integrations.
  
• Tools for establishing and managing a structure that kept discipline in existence while maintaining velocity.
  
• Clear ways to increase effectiveness that were beyond what the client could have provided on their own.

Coaching Senior Executives and Directors in both organizations allowed for:

• Early identification of possible roadblocks.
  
• Guidance on how to work through issues in constructive ways – “Doing this proactively was a big one for us,” said the President. “I value GLG’s ongoing insistence that matters be addressed proactively.”
  
• All parties to stay focused on “why we wanted the acquisitions in the first place, even when we were at odds or stressed – GLG made sure we stayed focused on the end game.”

Final comments from the President:
“I really do think that GLG provides a turnkey service that was customized to the needs of each acquisition – and is replicable in a variety of situations."

“GLG provided leadership and relationship management, along with a focus on results, allowing me, my direct reports and many other key players to focus on the core business to ensure results were not missed while the integration was happening. As a division President, I appreciate how GLG brought my attention to things that I needed to provide in time to provide them. This allowed me to make sure that there was no ‘talent and resource drain’ in the day-to-day business."

“We actually grew our business results on the existing business during the period of the acquisition/integration, experiencing none of the typical dips in results. Integration plans were executed exactly on schedule, and ‘flawlessly.’ The relationships between our company and the people and companies we acquired have remained strong and continued to develop."

“Talent of key leaders within our division was developed significantly through the transfer of GLG’s work, tools, and technology. Established working teams within the division took on many of the models and practices introduced by GLG during the integration. There is clear evidence of the transfer of learning during integration into the day-to-day operations of our business in ways that have increased our effectiveness measurably."

“Our integration leaders and managers developed exponentially – exceeding expectations in roles by all measures.”

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