m&a veterans cite culture, personalities, and values as top deal-breakers.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
why do firms merge? why do sellers want to sell, buyers to buy? what attracts them? what worries them? what can go wrong?
and how does that affect you?
the new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 mergers & acquisitions survey, conducted in conjunction with capstone marketing, has some of the answers.
and who better to answer than practitioners who have been through the merger or acquisition process?
the survey, which delves into the attitudes and behaviors of the m&a phenomenon like no other study, is yielding a raft of surprising findings.
join the survey. get the results.
forty percent of these experienced professionals have been involved in more than one merger or acquisition and were part of the leadership team. so they know what they’re talking about.
but expertise doesn’t necessarily spell success. over two-thirds at some point experienced negotiations that failed to go anywhere, and 29 percent went through not only a merger but a de-merger.
these respondents are with pretty good firms. on a scale of one to ten—ten being excellent/world class—15 percent get grades of 9 or a 10, using 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间’ proprietary formula. a hefty 42 percent deserve an eight, and 45 percent earn a seven.
buyer’s market
so these pros know what they’re talking about. their voices are valuable. any partner thinking about fusing two firms should listen to them.
and the time to fuse may be now. a clear majority of survey respondents who have been through an m or an a— about 61 percent of them—see an acceleration in m&a activity over the next year to year and a half. another 32 percent say today’s frenetic rate is likely to continue unabated. and 63 percent of them say it will become more of a buyer’s market than it already is.
the underlying question is what is fanning the m&a fires. the underlying answer is retirement and succession, cited by 41 percent of respondents.
in some cases, the old baby-boomers are ready to cash out, trading their office for a dream that can finally come true.
but the age factor can be a problem as fuddy-duddies and whipper-snappers collide.
a senior partner named michael explains, answering a question about what motivates mergers. “aging baby boomers and a lack of partner-level staff in the wings. changes in technology will be a big factor, the way we did it 5-10-20 years ago (and in some cases the way it was done in the 1980s, which some still want to stick to) does not work today. only firms that adapt will survive. some older partners have great clients but are not able to relate to the next generation and will need to let go and merge or transition to younger partners, or they can turn the lights off and have no legacy when they retire (in my experience i have seen really good clients leave because the older partner could not relate to the new younger owner).”
while some mergers are a result of retirees selling their firms, in other cases, the old principals just take their pensions and move on. the seats left open by retirement account for a lot of the m&a activity. in 70 percent of the cases, it’s to grow the firm, with 41 percent looking to acquire clients for cross-selling opportunities. almost as many—37 percent—are looking not for clients but for talent.
talent and careers
interestingly enough, 31 percent say they pursue a merger or acquisition to provide career opportunities for professional staff.
in that firm growth and talent acquisition are the biggest drivers of m&a activity, it’s not surprising that 36 percent say that financial performance is the most important characteristic for evaluating candidate firms. another 12 percent said it ranks second.
and it’s no surprise that firm culture is nearly as important. thirty-four percent ranked it first, and 15 percent ranked it second. not many put niche expertise in the top slot, but 22 percent said it was their second-most important criterion.
very few (single-digit percentages) put the other common criteria in first place, among them risk, legal issues, how personnel are motivated or trained, leadership style and involvement in the marketplace and community.
the big deal-breakers
while the motivations for mergers and acquisitions are compelling, there are also compelling reasons not to move too fast. the number and variety of deal-breakers hint at the minefield around possible agreements. the leading concern is incompatible cultures, a critical consideration for 75 percent. a similarly nebulous concern—lack of an agreed-on vision, mission, and core values—is a problem for 60 percent. “difficult partners” is also common, at 60 percent.
summarizing a lot of that concern, dan fortman, a principal at weiss & company, llp, advises firms to assess not only the chiefs but the braves. “take a hard look at admin staff,” he says. “different procedures seem to be more difficult for admin than professional staff.”