Having the right people engaged in the right way at the right time is essential to the success of merger and acquisition projects, according to a new article co-authored by David De Cremer, KPMG Professor of Management Studies at Cambridge Judge Business School.
Up to 75 per cent of merger and acquisition (M&A) projects fail to deliver the original targets agreed when making the deal, while nearly half of key staff involved in M&A deals leave within a year after the deal closes, according to some statistics, says the article published in The European Business Review publication.
“Decisions to merge with or take over companies are not taken lightly,” says the article, co-authored by De Cremer and business advisor Mark Goyens.
So the authors look at five key questions whose answers could help businesses succeed with M&A projects:
- Do companies spend the right amount of time at the right stages of a deal?
- Is there a strong M&A team to lead the project, with time to devote to it?
- Is the HR department involved in M&A from the beginning?
- Will the due diligence process yield sufficient information?
- Is there a strong communications plan to help ensure the deal’s success after closure?
The article concludes that getting the numbers right is of course essential, but the ultimate success of an M&A project also depends on the “quality and attention” paid to selecting and engaging the right people.