M&A Science Podcast

On this episode of M&A Science, Kison interviews Christina Ungaro, former Head of Corporate Development at JLL. Together they discuss how companies should structure talent-focused acquisitions, breaking down exactly what that kind of transaction requires and entails, the necessary diligence, and how to make these deals successful.

On this episode on M&A Science, Kison speaks with Isaac Lund, VP Corporate Development and M&A at National Express LLC. The topic is all about learning how to work with a private seller to get the best outcome.

On this episode of M&A Science, Kison Patel speaks with Dr. Klint Kendrick, Chair of HR, M&A roundtable. Together they discuss the HR practitioner's guide to M&A and due diligence, covering topics such as when to bring HR in, major HR risks, and how to weigh risks.

This episode of M&A Science is an interview with Ajit Sane, Director IT M&A at Agilent Technologies. The topic of discussion is how to wind a business down with minimal customer and people disruption.

Teams are trying to figure out how to modernize IMO, and how to build a synergy plan that actually delivers. In this session, Jonathan and Bill discuss bench strength, creating the right IMO team, tips for modernizing, and more.

Joining Kison in this interview is Neal McNamara, Co-founder of Virtas Partners, an advisory firm specializing in preparing companies financially and operationally for M&A.

M&A is not a strategy, rather a tool that can achieve a company's objectives. Learn how to differentiate between using M&A as a tool rather than a strategy, and upon doing that, how to create an appropriate strategy for your process.

This interview was with Ivan Golubic, former VP Corporate Development at Goodyear. The topic of discussion is how to make joint ventures more successful. Kison and Ivan discuss the three reasons JVs fail and the keys to making them more successful.

Not every company uses the same method for valuation. In this session, Brian Buchert gives some insight to his team's valuation "secret sauce".

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.

Kison Patel sits down with Erik Levy, Group Head Corporate Development and M&A at DMGT plc, to discuss how the approach to valuation sets the precedent for integration and diligence. He has completed over 150 acquisitions, minority and venture investments and strategic partnerships.

In this webinar, you will learn how to update the integration process by taking a people-first approach, even during a time of remote working. Learn vital lessons on how to adapt to a virtual work environment by utilizing tech and other communication tools available.

Together, Jeff and Kison discuss approaches to take for deal negotiations, how to present an offer and prepare yourself for any responses you may get, and what the main priorities of diligence are.

Kison speaks with Jeff Baker, EVP, Mergers, and Acquisitions at InComm to discuss the complex world of international deals. Jeff talks about how to handle culture clash, why asking questions goes a long way, making sure you watch out for illegal activities, and more.

Kison speaks with Kim Jones, Senior HR M&A Manager at Microsoft. Together they discuss what company culture is, at what of the deal to consider it, and how to assess the company culture.

On this episode, Kison and Ritch Schaafsma, VP of Corporate Development, Global Mergers and Acquisitions at General Motors, discuss the ins and outs of international joint ventures.

COVID-19 has made a significant impact on M&A. What are the actual views and responses from executives, dealmakers and board members?

This interview features Sachin Kumar, Senior Director - M&A and Regional Lead for HR North America at Conduent. Our topic of discussion is the not so famous process of Rebadging.

In this webinar, Kison speaks with Christian Von Bogdandy, Practice Director at Slalom. You will learn about how decision making affects a deal outcome, how to use the agility model to improve practices, what maks a deal 'successful' and more.

In this episode, Abhik Jain, Vice President of International Strategy and Business Optimization at Hill-Rom, shares his knowledge of buy-side and sell-side M&A deals, as well as personal advice on handling negotiations and transactions.

On this episode, Kison speaks with Briana Elkington, Program Manager at VSP Global. Previously she was a Lead Project Manager at Oracle where she assembled a project management office responsible for the successful integration of acquired assets.

In this episode, Kison Patel speaks with Russ discusses the best practices he’s learned at SAP, how he was able to bring those best practices over to ANSYS, guiding principles he focuses on during a transaction, and how to begin building an integration process at a company that doesn’t have one.

Kim Jones and Devorah Bertucci discuss the importance of corporate development and integration teams collaborating with each other. When teams aren't aligned, deals don't get done. This is why it's so important for the corporate development and integrations to collaborate with each other. Hear from Devorah Bertucci and Kim Jones on how to make sure both sides are aligned and what the common concerns from each side are.

When integration practices and past integrations are not closely examined and learned from, it can be easy to revert back to old ways and/or rely on standardized playbooks in the midst of the chaos of a deal. Integration is a delicate art that must value people and culture, and more and more practitioners are realizing this, yet still making mistakes and falling victim to common, incorrect assumptions. Today, we examine six incorrect approaches to integration and attempt to learn from them.

70% of serial acquirers feel they do not do a good job of assessing leaders and culture - a staggering stat to say the least given that culture and poor leadership are often cited as the top two reasons deals fail to meet their thesis. Consequently, it is quite obvious if practitioners (especially on the buy-side) do not fully investigate culture and leadership during a deal’s lifecycle, they cannot build a plan to address potential differences and problem areas, which will ultimately have a negative impact on business.