Why Big Companies Destroy Small Ones

Carlos Cesta, former Vice President of Corporate Development at Presidio, and Jeff Desroches, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at VAT Group (SWX: VACN)

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“The worst thing is not to discuss (integration) at all. You’re setting yourself up for failure.”

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On this episode of M&A Science, Kison interviews Carlos Cesta, former Vice President of Corporate Development at Presidio, and Jeff Desroches, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at VAT Group about why small companies often get destroyed during M&A. They discuss why big companies acquire small ones in the first place, how small companies can protect themselves during a deal, and the common issues that result in a small company getting destroyed.

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Learn how having empathy when approaching a deal can make a difference in outcome, why deal fever can be dangerous to the success of an organization, and why beginning the integration planning process early on in a deal drastically improves the success of M&A. Jeff and Carlos educate Kison on what the early integration planning process entails and how to run integration SWOT teams.

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Carlos Cesta

Carlos Cesta has 30 years of M&A experience from investment banking to corporate development at Verizon, Dentsu, Presidio, and NP Digital. He ran point on Verizon's media buildout (AOL and Yahoo deals) and has closed 125+ transactions. He specializes in standing up M&A functions from zero, defining programmatic M&A strategies, and structuring deals for long-term value creation. Recently transitioned from buy-side to launch his own advisory practice, partnering with entrepreneurs using a buyer-led mindset.

Jeff Desroches

Jeff Descoches is the Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at VAT Group. He's a high-impact Corporate Development executive adept at identifying, developing and executing strategic growth opportunities. Resourceful problem solver with proven ability to manage large, cross-functional teams to drive complex commercial and technical programs. Extensive experience in international deal making.