Tips for Overcoming Challenges in Company Mergers

Navigating Cross-Border M&A in Today’s Uncertain Global Economy In my experience, I’ve found that cross-border M&A present unique challenges and opportunities, especially in uncertain economic times. As we move through 2025, I’m seeing concern as how to navigate these complex transactions when the only thing certain is uncertainty. Here are a few tips from my experience: Cultural Integration: One of the most significant challenges I’ve encountered in cross-border deals is cultural integration. When companies from different countries merge, the cultural differences can derail even the most financially sound transaction. Cultural compatibility goes beyond corporate values to include work styles, communication norms, and decision-making processes. I’ve learned that conducting thorough cultural due diligence before finalizing any deal is as crucial as financial assessments. This means understanding the target company’s organizational culture and national business practices to identify potential friction points early. Regulatory Approvals: The regulatory environment for cross-border M&A has become increasingly complex, with growing global scrutiny of foreign direct investment and more active government involvement around strategic sectors like energy security. Quick regulatory approval requires comprehensive legal and regulatory due diligence well before considering the M&A. Operational practices permitted in one jurisdiction might be prohibited in another, potentially affecting not just the deal’s efficiency but sometimes its very validity. Communication: Clear and transparent communication has proven to be the bedrock of successful cross-border deals. Poor communication breeds mistrust and uncertainty, which can significantly impact employee engagement and retention. This means communicating the purpose, benefits, and challenges of the deal to all stakeholders – employees, customers, suppliers, regulators, and investors. Building Your Cross-Border M&A Strategy: The most successful cross-border transactions follow these key principles: First, engage local expertise. Local experts can provide insights that might not be apparent to outsiders. Second, develop a detailed integration plan. The integration phase is often the most challenging part of cross-border M&A. Third, implement robust risk assessment and mitigation strategies. Fourth, prioritize talent retention. Strategic retention decisions can preserve valuable human capital and institutional knowledge. As the global economy continues to evolve, cross-border M&A remains a powerful strategy for growth and market expansion. Addressing key challenges with strategic planning, companies can navigate the complexities of international transactions even in uncertain times. #CrossBorderMA #MergersAndAcquisitions #GlobalBusiness #DueDiligence #BigLaw #InternationalBusiness #CorporateFinance #PostMergerIntegration #GlobalEconomy #RiskManagement #CulturalIntegration #PrivateEquity #InvestmentBanking

In the world of mergers and acquisitions, success is often measured by growth potential and synergies.  However, one crucial factor can make or break a deal's long-term success: operational efficiency. Without a clear focus on integrating operations smoothly, even the most promising mergers can fall short of their potential. Key considerations include: • Streamlined Integration: A successful integration goes beyond simply combining operations and systems. It involves a meticulous planning process where workflows, technology, and teams are seamlessly merged to function as one cohesive unit. This alignment reduces disruptions and accelerates the realization of synergies. • Cost Optimization: Merging two companies can lead to redundancies in systems, staffing, and processes. By actively identifying and eliminating inefficiencies early in the process, acquirers can streamline costs, boost profitability, and reallocate resources to higher-value initiatives. • Process Standardization: Implementing standardized best practices across the combined entity ensures consistency, improves operational control, and enables scalability. This standardization helps mitigate risks associated with varying operational procedures, ensuring smoother day-to-day operations and greater long-term success. • Talent Retention: During an M&A, retaining top talent is essential to preserving the value of the acquisition. Focusing on keeping key personnel not only maintains critical institutional knowledge but also helps retain the expertise needed to drive innovation and sustain growth. Clear communication and offering incentives are effective ways to ensure talent stays on board. • Cultural Alignment: Aligning the cultures of the two organizations is often overlooked, but it is key to long-term success. Building a unified vision and shared values creates a strong foundation for collaboration, reduces employee turnover, and helps employees feel more connected to the company’s new direction. By prioritizing operational efficiency, acquirers can: • Enhance profitability • Improve competitiveness • Increase valuations • Reduce integration risk Effective operational integration is the difference between merely completing a deal and truly reaching its potential. It requires a proactive approach, a deep understanding of the complexities involved, and the willingness to address challenges head-on to optimize every aspect of the new combined entity. What operational efficiency strategies worked best in your M&A experience? #mergersandacquisitions #operationalefficiency #businessintegration

Hard truth, most M&As fail. Yet, I have seen others succeed. The number one reason I have had clients succeed is that they prioritize people and culture. Significant research has been done on this issue, and here is a list of the top 10 reasons mergers and acquisitions fail: 1. They overpay for acquisitions. 2. Poor due diligence tanks the deal. 3. Cultural clashes destroy value. 4. Synergies never materialize. 5. Strategic rationale is weak. 6. Post-merger integration fails. 7. Human factors get ignored. 8. Communication breaks down. 9. Regulatory issues create friction. 10. Top talent walks away. But here's your playbook for success: 1. Strategic Planning & Execution ↳ Do thorough due diligence, set clear objectives, and build comprehensive integration plans. 2. Vision, Mission & Values ↳ Map the landscape of both organizations. ↳ Create an inspiring unified vision. ↳ Craft a compelling mission. ↳ Set shared values that guide decisions. ↳ Build a strategy that maximizes strengths. 3. Market Analysis ↳ Study the industry, customers, competition, and opportunities deeply. 4. Communication Strategy ↳ Build a clear plan to keep all stakeholders aligned and informed. 5. Integration Planning ↳ Form a dedicated team, create detailed plans, and tackle cultural issues head-on. 6. Talent Strategy ↳ Review org structures. ↳ Map roles clearly. ↳ Set selection criteria. ↳ Plan transitions carefully. ↳ Keep key players engaged. 7. Leadership Assessment ↳ Start during due diligence. ↳ Use data to drive decisions. ↳ Focus on team dynamics. ↳ Move decisively on key roles. Follow this framework, and you'll dramatically increase your odds of M&A success. The key? A systematic approach. Focus on clear communication, thorough planning, and smart talent management. Tell me, what was your strategy for a successful M&A? — P.S. Unlock 20 years' worth of leadership lessons sent straight to your inbox. Every Wednesday, I share exclusive insights and actionable tips on my newsletter. (Link in my bio to sign up). Remember, leaders succeed together.

📢 New article Alert! When your company gets acquired (or acquires someone else), unless you're ion the C-Suite, you rarely see it coming. One day you're planning your next product launch, the next you're on a call learning your portfolio is being flipped on it's head! As a product marketer, I've been through this twice in the past 12 months. Each time, I was expected to have answers when I didn't even know the right questions yet. 🫣 Here's what I learned: The difference between M&A success and failure (70-90% fail) often comes down to how well you manage integration—and PMMs sit right at the center of that challenge. In my latest piece, I share the 30/60/90 framework that helped us navigate both acquisitions: ➡️ Days 1-30: Rapid discovery and quick wins ➡️ Days 31-60: Strategic planning and internal integration prep ➡️ Days 61-90: Campaign launch and optimize The reality? It's messy, fast-moving, and unpredictable. But with the right approach, product marketing can create clarity from chaos. 🔥 Hot tip: Don't wait for a deal to prepare. Build your M&A readiness playbook now sales templates, communication frameworks, portfolio mapping tools. When consolidation hits, you'll lead instead of react. What's your M&A story? How have you navigated organizational consolidation? #ProductMarketing #MergersAndAcquisitions #Healthcare #Leadership #Strategy #MarketingStrategy

A few weeks ago, the “M&A Whisperer” Jennifer J. Fondrevay led a discussion with Extraordinary Women on Boards (EWOB) on the human dynamics that can make or break a deal.    What questions should the board be asking beyond the numbers? What should buyers and sellers be pursuing before and after the deal for successful M&A integration, particularly with respect to talent management? As described by Jennifer (and experienced by many in the Zoom room), M&A can foster an "us versus them" mentality, which can undermine the success of the deal. Boards should be asking questions: * to understand culture at each of the combined entities, * how cultural differences will be bridged, * how the vision for the combined companies will be communicated to employees and other stakeholders, * what actions are being taken before (if possible) and after announcement of the transaction to increase commitment to the transaction from the employees at both buyer and the target company. Tips for Sellers of a Target Company: 1. Plan for Cultural Integration: Ensure that there is a well-thought-out plan for integrating the cultures of the merging companies. 2. Focus on the Bigger Picture: Communicate the vision to the employees and how the M&A fits into the bigger picture, including what is anticipated for the target company and its workforce and providing a vision of how the target company, its relevant divisions and its employees can benefit.   3. Diligence: Is the buyer a serial acquirer (true in almost all cases for a PE buyer or an add-on to a PE portco; true in some cases for a strategic buyer)? How well have historic acquisitions integrated? Tips for a Buyer of a Business: 1. Learn from the Acquired Company: Take the time to learn from the target and integrate the best elements of both cultures and operating approaches. 2. Demonstrate Commitment: To gain and increase trust, show continued and consistent commitment to the vision in words and actions. 3. Define Organizational Structure: Focus on defining the organizational structure based on what is best for the customer. Consider the teams needed to achieve the vision and ensuring that the structure supports the combined company's goals. Challenges (and Tips) for both buyer and sellers: Often only a few employees at the buyer and target company know about any proposed deal. To minimize loss of trust, be as transparent as possible with employees at the combined companies following the deal announcement -- transparency around the business go forward, strategies, workforce, etc.. Be well. Winston & Strawn LLP https://lnkd.in/gNPfAt_J

Ever been in a meeting where you heard one thing, but someone else heard something completely different? Now imagine that in a bet the company business deal—this happens 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. Communication seems basic, right? But take the Daimler-Chrysler merger, for example, a $36 billion “merger of equals” in 1998. Behind the scenes, it was a mess. Daimler saw it as an acquisition, Chrysler as a partnership. This led to conflict over management styles—Daimler’s rigid hierarchy vs. Chrysler’s entrepreneurial vibe. Nine years later, Chrysler was sold, and the deal became a multibillion-dollar lesson in poor communication. There are endless examples of miscommunication that occur daily in business, political, and personal dealings of all types throughout the world. For mid-market and small businesses, where selling founders often retain rollover equity or have earnouts, cultural misalignment can impact future payouts significantly. A disconnect between buyer and seller can tank performance and hurt returns (not to mention cause major day-to-day headaches). Communication requires true mutual understanding—𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. Misalignment can snowball into big setbacks, whether it’s financial details or cultural fit. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱? 1. 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲, 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧: Don’t assume anything is understood without confirmation. 2. 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲: If something changes, speak up before it becomes a problem and hurts credibility. 3. 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: Adapt your communication style to fit the situation—executives, lawyers, accountants, and bankers don’t always speak the same language. The best deals are those that close with no surprises. Communicate like everything’s at stake—because it usually is (especially in M&A). #businessdeals #communication #dealbreakers

There's much discussion about M&A, but let's focus on the M - mergers. Sharing my experience below. 👇 Mergers typically involve equity splits within 40/60 or even 30/70. I've worked on mergers from both the operating and investment banking sides, across public and private companies. In my experience, these are the key challenges: 1. Diligence: Particularly challenging as companies are often competitors. Sharing data becomes complex. One one deal between public companies, we had to coordinate opening data rooms at the exact same second because neither side trusted the other to follow through! 2. Defining ownership splits: a. Public companies face constant share price movements during negotiations and the again between signing and closing. Even with established collars (agreement that deal terms stay fixed if movement is under 10%), we often exceeded these limits before signing. One unique advantage of public company mergers is you have analyst consensus forecasts that are unbiased, credible ways to set merger ownership ratios. Using management forecasts means each side has an incentive to show hockey stick growth. b. Merging private companies typically results in the most recent valuations not from the same date, making using valuation a difficult metric to use. Example: "Your valuation is from the peak of 2020, it's not real, ours is from the depths of 2023." The company with higher revenue typically wants to define ownership by revenue split (e.g., "$100M revenue versus your $80M means we should own 56% of the combined company"). If you're more profitable? That becomes your preferred metric. 3. Non-deal terms like choosing the new company name, which headquarters is the new headquarters, and of course every employee role is at risk because now you have 2x of everything. 4. Board and management structure: Some mergers arise when there's a departing CEO with no clear successor, which simplifies the hardest management decision. Even with a clear CEO candidate, questions remain about Chairman, COO roles, and board composition. Folks ready to retire makes that role selection easy, I recommend round robin for the rest of the roles (Chairman from company A, CEO from company B, CTO from company A, etc.) Despite these challenges, consider exploring mergers with competitors and partners: 1. Combine smaller competitors to create a market leader 2. Merge with your largest partner 3. Combine to achieve the scale that's required to go public Questions? Have merger experience? Please share in the comments below.

We've all heard how bank mergers are transformative, but the real challenge lies in the integration of the two businesses, right? I discussed this thought with my Cornerstone Advisors partner, Quintin Sykes, in Scottsdale yesterday afternoon. FWIW, his team has led integration efforts in four of the top 20 bank M&A deals since 2023. Based on these experiences, he offered these three "early action items" for those who haven’t done a deal in a while: ⏰ Start Planning Early With the resurgence of significant acquisitions (e.g., Renasant Bank, UMB Bank, United Bank, SouthState Bank, Sunflower Bank, N.A., Burke & Herbert Bank), it's crucial to begin integration planning as soon as the deal is announced. To paraphrase my colleague from Carolina, early planning aligns key goals + sets the stage for a smoother transition. Thinking about your merger readiness well before due diligence starts? Even better. 📣 Focus on Culture & People Address cultural integration and employee concerns from the jump. This is a theme I heard for years while I was the #CEO of Bank Director and, most recently, on stage at #AOBA24. Change is difficult for many, so you can’t over-communicate, be it internally or externally. 🧗🏻Figure Out Your Tech Gaps What do you want the combined organization to be known for? Does your combined tech get you there? You may need to manage new complexities, especially in IT and operational systems… but if additional projects arise that are needed for integration, how much do you take on at once? _ _ _ 🗒️ Taking a page from my/our friend Chris Nichols at #SouthState, I shared the approach #Cornerstone takes when engaging in bank mergers in the accompanying images. Whether you're in an FI looking to grow through acquisition or supporting those engaging with potential sellers, I invite you to share your experiences (or questions) about #MergerReadiness in the comments. What strategies have worked for you? What challenges have you faced? Let's discuss 👇🏻

Merging Two Wealth Advisory Firms? Don’t DIY the Integration. Three key tips for smooth sailing. Too many firms underestimate the complexity of merging platforms, people, and processes. That’s where integration either creates lasting value… or quietly erodes it. Bringing in a merger integration consultant isn’t a luxury—it’s a strategic move. It ensures decisions aren’t driven by ego or emotion, and that growth isn’t stalled by internal friction. Here are 3 key tips to smooth the waters when merging wealth firms: 1. Start Integration Planning Before the Deal Closes Waiting until post-close to figure out ops, roles, and communication? That’s a recipe for chaos. Integration should run in parallel with due diligence. 2. Create a Unified Client Experience—Fast Clients don’t care who bought who. They care about service. Align the client journey early so no one feels the shift behind the scenes. 3. Appoint a Neutral Integration Lead Someone who isn’t fighting for legacy systems or internal turf. Ideally, an outside consultant who can balance people, process, and platform decisions with objectivity and speed. When done right, integration unlocks scale, elevates client experience, and positions your firm for real, sustainable growth. If you’re about to merge—or already feeling the friction post-deal—let’s talk. Comment on what resonates with you! Please follow Amy DeTolla and Aureus Advantage for more tips! Laura Hespe

Leadership Under Pressure: Insights from the Trading Floor This month I'd like to unpack: Navigating Post M&A Integrations Growth through a merger and/or acquisition is an exciting time. New possibilities, stronger organization, new capabilities, diverse perspectives. And yet, how many times do we see leaders tiptoe around integration??! There are plenty of reasons to be cautious: 🔹 Tech stacks take time to audit and rationalize 🔹 Product synergies take time to flesh out 🔹 Customer retention strategies take time to execute 🔹 Potential redundancies take time to evaluate Yes… it all takes careful consideration and TIME. Having led numerous large scale integrations many things became second nature: audit of assets, rate and rank, fit to mission, organizational design. We were disciplined, we had experience and developed a playbook. And yet, not all of them went smoothly – there was money and time wasted. Why? The courage to recognize when its time to rip off the Band-Aid! Integrations aren’t just about synergy. It’s emotional. Someone feels like a winner, someone a loser. And if you try too hard to make everyone a winner, you may lose the battle. One of the biggest inhibitors to a successful integration is appeasement that is routed in fear. Fear of disrupting, offending, damaging ego … the list goes on. So what happens? Beyond the waste of time and money; it is increasingly more painful to get a positive result. 1+1 should equal 3 or 4. Yes, there are difficult conversations, but a lack of transparency and communication only makes it worse. Leading to hypothesis, disengagement and even rumor. Instead, if you are transparent and communicative from the beginning it lays the groundwork. There will be change, change will make us stronger and we all need to embrace it. Be transparent, be honest and don’t get mired in the drama. Lay the groundwork early: ✔ Be transparent—Don’t sugarcoat. Change is coming. ✔ Be decisive—Delays create uncertainty and erode trust. ✔ Be bold—Culture integration is just as important as systems. What’s worse in an M&A—moving too fast or too slow? 📸 Midjourney