Interviews with experts
Check out our exclusive interviews with M&A practitioners where they share their experiences, knowledge, and advice.
New!
How to Structure Teams Approaching Diligence
Every company that does M&A has varying team sizes and many attributing factors as to how their deal team is currently constructed.
How to Negotiate and Structure NDAs
An NDA is not a routine document in an M&A deal. It is vital in setting up the relationship of both parties as they move forward. Discussing in-depth how to negotiate and structure NDAs in an M&A deal is Mark Khavkin, CFO at Pantheon Platform.
Buy or Build Considerations in M&A
Before you start making any acquisition, buy or build considerations should always be a part of your decision. In this interview, Cameron Weiner, VP of Strategic Development, Head of M&A at Shopko Optical, shares how he determines if you should buy or build.
Engineering Deals for Success
M&A deals are never easy and require rigorous planning. But despite its complexities. There is a way to increase your chances of success. According to Punit Micocha, EVP, Corporate Development at Zscaler, it's all about planning what the end state would look like right from the start.
How to Create a Successful GTM Strategy
A GTM strategy is one of the most critical parts of an integration plan. In this episode, Pragnya Kashinath, Director of M&A at Cognizant, talks about how to create a successful GTM strategy from the very beginning of the transaction and the challenges that go with it.
.jpg)
How to Manage Sourcing Diligence and Integration
Managing an entire acquisition is pretty daunting, especially if you are new to the process. This is probably why two people are leading the charge in any M&A deal; a deal lead and an integration lead. Each has its own roles and responsibilities but are equally important. Let's all learn how to manage sourcing, diligence, and integration from two of the industry's top minds: Sabeeh Khan, Director, Corporate Strategy & Development at Syniti, and Aaron Whiting, M&A Integration and Strategic Programs at ContinuumCloud.
Staying True To Your Culture in M&A
Culture can kill a deal, and Trish Mosconi, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer & Corporate Development at Synchrony, proves it. They walked away from a deal due to massive cultural differences and could not see a way to integrate the business in their organization.
How to Commit to Integration from Start to Finish
Fully committing to integration starts with a deep partnership between corp dev and integration. Learn all about it, featuring Karen Ashley, Vice President of Corporate Development Integration at Cisco.
_photos_v2_faces_x4.jpeg)
Transformative M&A
We all know that M&A can transform a business overnight if the deal is done correctly. However, not everyone knows how to make transformative M&A successful. In this article, Duncan Painter, CEO at Ascential Plc, talks about transformational deals for their company and how they make it successful.
Executing a Divestiture without a Bank
Regardless of popular belief, a company can execute divestitures without a bank with the right amount of dedication and resources. Having done it multiple times, Russ Hartz, VP Corp Dev at Ansys, will be helping us understand the process and some of the best practices during this transaction.
.jpg)
Managing Infrequent Acquisitions
Peter Linas, CPO & EVP Corporate Development at Bullhorn, talks about how his corporate development team looks like in an infrequent acquisition environment and how they hire external consultants to make their deals successful.
Evolving Your M&A Integration Function
Transitioning to fully remote M&A transactions is not easy but very doable. With the proper tools and proper techniques to manage your people across these technologies, your M&A process can run smoothly.
.jpg)
.png)
Buy and Build Strategy
PE firms have a very short term holding period and need to grow businesses fast. Adam Coffey, CEO at CoolSys, Refrigeration and HVAC Systems, is an expert on growing these companies using the buy and build strategy. In this article, he will share what it is and how to create sustainable success.
How to Preserve Value in M&A Post-Acquisition
Value often gets destroyed in M&A. Jay Dettling, CEO of Ansira, has been on both sides of the deal. In this episode, we're talking about preserving value post-acquisition, and his advice to CEOs getting acquired for the first time.
How to Realize Deal Value
Integration is where you realize deal value and you need to focus on it from the very start. In this episode, Michael Devita, Success Strategy Lead at Salesforce, is going to talk about lessons that he learned from executing successful integration and how to successfully realize deal value in M&A.
How to use Multiple Deal Structures to Make Partnerships Successful in India
Reliance Retail is one of the fastest-growing retailers in the world. Learn how they manage multiple deal structures to make their partnerships successful directly from their President and CEO, Darshan Mehta.
Executing Divestitures
Divestiture is not the reverse of an acquisition, and it takes more work and preparation. In this episode, Rhonda Rein, Director, Corporate Development at Thomson Reuters, helps us understand where divestiture starts, how TSA work and what happens after close.
The Truth About Change Management
Preserving the value of the acquired company should be the number one priority in any deal. Of course, any buyer would want to get what they paid for in the first place. But more often than not, value leaks post-close. Even though there are many reasons why this is happening, one could argue that it is mostly about people.
.jpeg)
How to Manage Multi-Vertical Strategies
Managing a multi-vertical M&A strategy requires a high performing team, full of perpetual learners and with a strong appetite for risk taking. In this episode, Ailene Holderness, Head of M&A at IAC, talks about how they manage their multi-vertical strategy and how to build a high performing M&A team.
.jpeg)
Managing M&A on a High Scale
Managing M&A on a high scale takes good governance and clear strategy. In this episode, Jeff Bender, CEO at Harris, explains their entire M&A process on how they are able to do massive volumes of deals every year.
.jpeg)
.png)
How To Successfully Execute Deals With a Small Team
You don't need a huge M&A team to do deals successfully. With the right strategy in a specialized industry, you can make your process more efficient. In this episode, Jason Lippert, CEO of LCI Industries, shares how they successfully execute deals with a small team.
Managing Internal Dynamics
One of the most critical roles as head of corporate development is managing your internal team and dynamics. In this episode, Randy Tinsley, Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development at Synopsys, breaks down how to get internal alignment, build your team, and set them up for success.
How to Approach Diligence
Due Diligence is a crucial process that sets the tone for an acquisition. But how do you perform due diligence? Before we can understand how diligence gets done, we have to understand the goals associated with due diligence.
Deal Origination From a PE investors Perspective
PE firms source deals differently from strategic buyers. Jay Jester, Partner at Plexus Capital, LLC, breaks it down into three categories; Brand Building Exercise, Customer Focus, and Setting up a System.
.jpeg)
How To Negotiate Like a Pro
Negotiating is part of our daily lives. In this episode, we will be discussing how to effectively negotiate like a pro by determining how much leverage we have with the other party. Also, what skills are required for you to improve your negotiation skills.
.jpeg)
Conducting M&A without a Dedicated Team
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a dedicated M&A team to execute successful transactions. With proper team alignment and motivation, getting deals done is very much possible. In this episode, Alexi Venneri, founder and CEO of Digital Air Strike, shares her process as to why she thinks not having a dedicated team is actually better.
.jpeg)
How SS&C Conducts Acquisitions
Every acquirer has different strategies for their acquisitions. In this episode, we look at SS&C's system on how they look at deals, how they approach integration, and how they preserve the target company's value.
Hunting Deals in M&A
Finding the right deals is hard, especially if you're looking for companies that don't want to be found. In this episode, Dustin Intihar, Director, M&A, and Strategic Alliances at Lubrizol, talks about how to hunt deals in M&A the right way.
How to Prepare a Business for Private Equity Acquisition
Trade shows is an industry that is often underlooked. However, it is gaining more and more attention now from PE firms. Learn how to prepare your business for a private equity acquisition, featuring Philip Soar, Executive Chairman, and CEO of CloserStill Group PLC.
From Private to Public Company
Going from private company to public is a huge transition, especially from a CEO's perspective. It adds more responsibility and more reporting to more people. In this episode, Darren Lampert, CEO at GrowGeneration Corp, shares his good and bad experiences in this transition. He also talks about how this change affects their approach to M&A.
_auto_x2_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Why You Need To Ask Less During Diligence
When conducting due diligence, you want to be as thorough as possible. But it can also take a lot of time, money and resources to complete. James Harris, Principal of Corporate Development Integration at Google shares why we need to take a different approach to due diligence and how it can help your company in the long run.
How To Prevent International Deals From Failing
Have you ever wondered why international deals fail so often? Hear from AGCO Corporation's former CEO, Martin Richenhagen, about how leaders can prevent these types of deals from failing.
Developing Leadership in M&A
A successful deal is largely attributed to leadership, much as it is when the deal fails. In this discussion, Scott shares share how to develop leadership in M&A, the different types of important leadership skills, and how you can develop them.
M&A From Founder to A Board Member’s Perspective
M&A is very different through the lens of a CEO and a board member. While a CEO is in charge of the company's day-to-day operational tasks, a board member must ensure profitability.
.png)
Managing Communication Workstream
There are a lot of things that you should consider when building a communication strategy. Knowing how to manage your communication workstream is crucial in keeping the value of the business.
.jpg)
How to Build a Collaborative M&A Process Across the Deal Life Cycle
In this webinar, I discuss the common challenges that M&A practitioners face within their deals, and how project management software can solve these challenges and improve your overall process.
.jpg)
.png)
Executing M&A from a Legal Perspective
Deals have become more complicated in the last 18 months from a legal perspective. But pandemic or not, you need to be aware of certain risks that can stop the entire deal altogether. Knowing how to mitigate them will help you close the deal faster and more efficiently.
Why You Should Execute A Divestiture Without A Bank?
Most companies hire banks to help them prepare for the sale, but it's not a requirement. Russ Hartz, VP of Corporate Development at Ansys talks about the pros and cons here.
The Legal Team’s Role in M&A
The legal team has a crucial role in an M&A transaction. They need to understand the deal's overall strategy, and they need to be involved in the beginning. Some strategies have inherent legal risks, and it is the legal team's job to understand the regulatory, legal, and jurisdictional issues and obstacles that may be present in the transaction.
Working with the Business Leader to Build an M&A Strategy
One of the biggest challenges in a corporate development role is setting expectations with business leaders to develop a strategy behind the deal. Most business leaders think they can do M&A but every acquisition must have a strategy behind it.
.png)
Joint Ventures Consolidation
Joint ventures are typically more complicated than traditional M&A because there are more parties involved, and everyone has to agree on many items. But with the right approach and model, a joint venture can run smoothly.
Joint Ventures at Scale
Joint ventures are typically more complicated than traditional M&A because there are more parties involved, and everyone has to agree on many items. But with the right approach and model, a joint venture can run smoothly.
Career Paths in M&A
What role you come from is not as important as the skills and expertise that you offer. Different companies have different views of why M&A is valuable to them. In this discussion, Matt shares how you can navigate the different career paths in M&A.
How M&A Can Be Transformed To Improve Integration
We need to transform our M&A process to drive better integrations. Joining us to understand and evolve our processes is Javid Moosaji, M&A Sales Integration Strategy at Paypal.
.png)
How AstraZeneca Approaches Alliances
We're talking about the spectrum of deals that corporate development manages, approaching partnerships and alliances, and how those relationships may progress into future transactions.
.jpg)
Conversations From the Frontlines
A strategic alliance can be a powerful tool that can help companies achieve specific goals. But what exactly is an alliance? And why do companies do it?
Conversations From the Frontlines
This week's episode of the M&A Science podcast is an interview with Emma Barton, Director, Alliance and Integration Management at AstraZeneca. We're talking about the spectrum of deals corporate development manages approaching partnerships and alliances and how those relationships may progress into M&A.
Agile Value Capture from Initial Deal Prospecting to Integration
Integration is a value capture play that not many have been able to actualize. By connecting and validating the deal thesis early, deal teams can improve their success rate. Joining us to discuss how to connect the overall transaction process and optimize the value created is Carlos Cesta, Vice President of Corporate Development at Presidio.
Corporate Venture Capital
John Orbe talks about corporate venture capital, what it is, why you should consider it for your organization, and the challenges you may face with it. John explains how to identify your strategic goal, setting objectives, and how to assemble your VC team. He then goes on to explain the deal structure of corporate venture capital transactions.
.png)
Why Big Companies Destroy Small Ones In M&A
If you're a small company about to be acquired by a larger one, you may be wondering how you can protect yourself and your employees from being destroyed by the large acquirer. Hear from M&A pros about how to protect yourself during transactions and what red flags to look out for.
Creating Successful Deal Outcomes Using Innovation
A one size fits all approach does not apply to M&A. You need to focus on integration, be agile, and learn from every deal to keep improving your M&A process.
Managing a Multi-Vertical M&A Strategy
Hear from the Vice President of Corporate Development at 3M about how leaders prioritize industries and prevent leaders from developing deal biases through specific team exercises.
Evolving to Agile M&A at Scale
Larger companies have started adopting Agile in their process. In this article, we will be talking about evolving to Agile M&A at scale with the help of Ashley Rice, Sr. Consultant HR M&A at Cisco, and Kimberly Baird, Corporate Development Integration Lead at Cisco.
_photos_v2_faces_x4%20(1).jpg)
.jpg)
The Best M&A Podcast Episodes of 2020
I've interviewed a lot of M&A professionals on the M&A Science podcast, and each of them was a delight to talk to. However, there are a few episodes that stood out the most.
Identifying Risks in Software M&A
There are many things to consider when you are doing software deals in M&A. You need to be fully aware of them in order to realize the full value of what you are buying.
_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
.png)
How Microsoft Negotiate Deal Terms
Negotiating deal terms is a massive part of an M&A process. Every negotiator brings something different to the table, but one thing is for sure- both parties need to be happy, or else the deal won't get done.
.jpg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
_photos_v2_x4%20(1).jpg)
Why Is M&A Integration So Hard?
If you ask any M&A practitioner, most will tell you the integration phase is the hardest. Learn why this is the case and how you can get through integration with ease.
.png)
How To Build An M&A Communication Plan
Building a communication plan is essential to get you ready for that all-important day one. The impression that you will make on your new stakeholders will dictate their behavior in the next couple of months. You have to be fully prepared on what to say when to say it, and how to say it. Helping us build our communication plan is David Olsson, Partner at BTD.
Making The Most Of Your Employee Announcements
According to Wharton's studies, acquired employees are twice as likely to leave compared to employees that are hired off the market. Clearly, organizations are doing something wrong. Helping us understand employee retention is Dr. Klint Kendrick, director of strategic workforce initiatives at SC Johnson.
Turning Deal Thesis Into Integration Objectives
Planning the integration in the early stage of the deal is critical for success. Yet, many people don't seem to do this, which is why most acquisitions don't deliver against the deal thesis. Helping us understand this matter is Christian von Bogdandy, Senior Director at Slalom.
How Atlassian Negotiates a Term Sheet
With the help of Chris Hecht, Head of Corporate Development at Atlassian, we will discuss how Atlassian negotiates a term sheet and why did they open source their recent term sheet.
.jpeg)
Divestiture Planning to Execution
In this article, we will discuss how to plan a divestiture effectively to make it more valuable and successful with Larry Forman, Senior Manager at Deloitte, and Michael Frankel, SVP, Managing Director at Deliotte.
How to Maximize the Value of Your Business Prior to Sale
Everyone wants to sell their business at a high price. But in order to negotiate in your favor, you have to have leverage. Otherwise, you’re just hoping to get lucky that someone will be willing to pay for what you are asking for.
How to Evolve Your M&A Workflow Using Agile Principles
IBM has been on a journey moving from a hierarchical approach to things, checklist-driven, with lots of individual silos to a much more forward-thinking, business outcome-oriented, and agile organization.
.png)
How Proactive Integration Engagement Differentiate Value in Deals
We all hear the horror stories about the failed M&A deals because of the lack of communication between the corporate development team and the integration team. But as the integration lead, what can you do to ensure communication and better deal outcomes?
.png)
Human Capital Management in M&A
AI and data has come a long way and is now an effective way to gauge people's competency and behavior.
_auto_x1_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
How to Build an M&A Center of Excellence from Scratch
These are the steps into building an M&A center of excellence from scratch. It's not going to be easy, but it will be a great tool for your company.
.png)
How to Build and Align a Corporate Development Team with Multiple Mandate
Every corporate development team has a different mandate. This interview covers how you can build a strong team and the different best practices to get the best value out of your deals.
.png)
Aligning People For a Better Integration
The deal sponsor and the entrepreneur need to have a good relationship and alignment of the entire deal to succeed. Both parties need to understand and agree as to what will happen to the company post-close.
Structuring Talent Focused Acquisitions
A talent-focused acquisition is a type of deal where you acquire a company because of its people; for their skills, domain expertise, or client relationships. In this article, you'll learn how to structure talent-focused acquisitions in order to preserve value.
.png)
.png)
Working With Private Sellers
One of the biggest differentiators of working with private sellers is that most of the time, they lack the basic knowledge of selling a business. This interview will cover the most important parts of acquiring family-owned businessess and how you can work effectively.
.png)
The HR Practitioner’s Guide to Mergers & Acquisitions Due Diligence
HR practitioners don't usually get involved in the deal until it has already been announced. Klint Kendrick will be discussing why this shouldn't be the case and different types of HR related risks to watch out.
Positive Employee Experience is Key to Successful M&A
When critical employees leave the company after the deal closes, the overall value of the deal can be destroyed. A positive employee experience will help a lot with employee retention and significantly increase the likelihood of achieving success for the deal.
_photos_v2_faces_x4%20(1).jpg)
How To Plan a Divestiture From an Accounting Perspective
In case you didn’t know, selling a part of your business is one of the hardest deals you can do. You have to make a lot of considerations.
Making Joint Ventures Successful
Almost 60 to 70% of joint ventures fail within the first five years. It can be complicated and you need to be prepared before you go into one.
_auto_x1_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
How Diligence and Integration Planning Can Frame a Successful Valuation
Contrary to popular belief, Diligence and Integration actually frames the success of valuation. Valuation needs to be adjusted all the time as you discover more things in the process. The diligence and integration planning are the inputs and the valuation is the output.
Navigating International Deals
Navigating International deals is hard, but with the right mindset, and a good knowledge of what to look for, you can make the deal as smooth as possible.
.png)
Building an Effective Internal Communication Plan for M&A
A good Internal communication plan helps you onboard and retain employees and suppliers faster. Here’s how you do it!
The Importance of Communication, Due Diligence, and Post-Closing Integration
Selling a company can be a long, costly, tedious process and you need to be ready for it. As long as you know why you are selling your company, you can avoid the doubt that will creep in and focus on the sale.
.jpeg)
Planning a Divestiture from an HR's perspective
Human Resources plays a huge part in any M&A transaction, especially in a divestiture. Separating employees from the parent company certainly has many challenges and complexities that you need to prepare for. If this is your first time doing a divestiture, then you're in luck.
.jpg)
Effective M&A Deal Sourcing
An effective deal sourcing is all about relationships. This discussion talks about how to approach your target and get past gatekeepers.
Behind the Scenes: Effective Deal Sourcing and Closing
Building out a brand new corporate development function can be challenging, especially if you don't know where to start.
Managing Surprises in Diligence
While other people feel the need to eliminate surprises, Joseph Feldman thinks otherwise. He says we should be prepared for surprises, not eliminate them.
.jpeg)
Complete Guide to Cultural Assessment
Dawn White describes how to best conduct and approach cultural assessments as well as common missteps she’s seen in the process and how to overcome them.
.jpg)
How to Implement an Agile approach into M&A
Google has been using the Agile approach in its acquisitions. They finish faster and have better outcomes. Find out how they do it here.
Implementing Agile into M&A
James Harris, Principal, Corporate Development Integration at Google shares how they implement the Agile methodology in their deals.
Best Ways to Approach Diligence
Approaching diligence efficiently sets the stage for better integration and the overall process. Learn buy-side diligence, red flags to look out for and integration planning with Judah Karkowsky, SVP Corporate & Business Development at Cengage.
.jpeg)
What Successful Integration Looks Like
Why is it that some acquisitions are successful and some are not? Acquisitions can fail for reasons of strategy or execution. While no one can predict the future regarding market changes, an acquiring company can control how they execute on integrating the acquired company.
How Empathy Makes Mergers and Acquisitions Successful
Why is it that some acquisitions are successful and some are not? Acquisitions can fail for reasons of strategy or execution. While no one can predict the future regarding market changes, an acquiring company can control how they execute on integrating the acquired company.
Importance of Quality of Earnings
Quality of earnings is a crucial part of any company sale. It allows you to get a picture of the company's real value being sold and an overview of what it would look like on another ownership. Preparing a QofE analysis will help you negotiate better whether you are a buyer or a seller.
.png)
Building a Guide to Project Manage M&A
in pursuit of creating the best project management process guide for the buy and sell-side, we posted an outline of what we thought would be a great guide and the feedback we got all over the place.
Cultivating Relationships With The Seller
There is a reason why M&A deals fail most of the time… It’s hard. Relationships with deal targets will help you in any imaginable way.
How to Cultivate Relationships with Deal Targets
Relationships with deal targets are extremely important as they can help shape the entire deal process. Learn how you can form those relationships and avoid common pitfalls along the way to increase your chances of getting the deal done.
