After the Merger

Kroger, Fritz; Tram, Michael

ISBN 10: 0273643541 ISBN 13: 9780273643548

Publisher: Ft Pr, 2000

Synopsis

Offers a powerful blueprint on how to effect post merger integration and reflects many of the merger lessons learned by the authors over the years.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

A record number of mergers are making headlines and prompting questions about which will ultimately succeed and which will fail. Although integration is not without stress for an organization and employees, mergers can succeed if companies develop and adhere to a highly disciplined strategy of adding value on day one while implementing a blue-print for future growth. Since 1992, Tyco International has acquired and integrated more than 110 companies. We gauged these and other potential acquisitions on their ability to expand our core businesses, making sure that their growth potential would be long-term and sustainable. We have learned that speed is the driver of successful integration, as authors Max M. Habeck, Fritz Kroeger and Michael R. Tram accurately point out. Once discussions have been initiated, we begin making plans for implementation during due diligence. Between the merger announcement and completion dates, we have identified the leaders and developed a one-, two- and three-year plan with them. At Tyco, we implement the short-term integration plan within weeks, which eliminates uncertainties and shifts the focus to achieving growth for the merged companies. While we justify our acquisitions using the cost savings that can be achieved - and achieved during the first few weeks of integration - we are talking about and seeking ways to generate internal growth from the time we begin due diligence. The worst mistake is to leave employees without a sense of the goals and objectives of the merger, so communication is vital. Employee understanding and buy-in are particularly necessary to achieve the early-on reductions as well as growth. You can't just eliminate costs without implementing appropriate incentives and direction for growing the company. Likewise, you can't just provide incentives for growth if you're not going to take out the costs. They go hand in hand for successful integration and shareholder value. Merging companies often get caught up in the details. They must be willing to accept getting 80 percent of it right because integration must happen as quickly as possible. In our experience, you establish the leaders, they take out cost redundancies by consolidating duplicative operations using a best-practices approach, and then you start turning the course for growth, all at the same time. Incentives that reward employees who are willing to take risks and don't penalize failure also further the goals of integration and growth. Incentive systems for good ideas and prudent risk taking are an important part of our culture at Tyco, the major cultural influence we bring to acquired companies. After the Merger offers an especially powerful blueprint on how post-merger integration should be done and reflects many of the merger lessons we have learned. Companies with mergers in mind - no matter what their size - would do well to consider these principles before signing on the dotted line.

From the Back Cover

Open any newspaper and you'll find a story on the latest merger or acquisition. A recent global survey conducted by A.T.Kearney has yielded results comparable with many other studies on the subject. High percentages of all mergers worldwide fail to create value. In some cases they even destroy it.

A record number of mergers are making headlines and prompting questions about which businesses will ultimately succeed and which will fail. Although integration is not without stress for an organization and its employees, mergers can succeed if companies develop and adhere to a highly disciplined strategy of value-adding on day one while implementing a blueprint for future growth.

After the Merger overcomes the vagueness of general, well-intended advice and illustrates case by case, rule by rule, how to be successful when embarking on a merger.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ft Pr
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0273643541
• ISBN 13: 9780273643548
• Binding: Textbook Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 146