Introduction

This book arose from my direct experience in Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) transactions, which sometimes ran into the billions of dollars, and were conducted all over the world.

M&A is a big and exciting topic. Companies compete fiercely to acquire a competitor. The financial stakes are high, the process is intense, and the victor graces the covers of business magazines. Some transactions lead to world-beating companies, others lead to disaster. Behind all the headlines and swashbuckling hype are the careful details that make the difference between a transaction that succeeds and one that doesn't. This book is about those careful details. It is for those people in the business who want to increase their likelihood of M&A success. It will not appeal to those looking for an exciting business story.

So then, who is this book for? CEOs, CFOs, COOs, business leaders, and finance staff who are contemplating an M&A transaction. If this is your first or second attempt at an acquisition of another company, then you will probably benefit from hiring an M&A banker, if you can afford one. On the other hand, if your company is a serial acquirer, then it has likely developed the requisite experience in-house and your team will handle all aspects of the transaction. In either case, the lessons of this book apply.

The audience for this book is quite small because typically a very small number of members of a company are involved in a transaction: the CEO, CFO, Chief Legal Officer, maybe the Chief Human Resources Officer, the Head of M&A, if there is one, and a member of the finance team to own and run the M&A financial model. (That was me when I was younger.) Why keep the team so small? Confidentiality is everything in M&A. If there is a leak, and the market learns, the price of a target rises dramatically. This can lead the deal to fall through, hurting both the seller and potential buyers. Once the market learns a company will probably be sold, then problems arise for the seller. They might have problems attracting new hires, maintaining employee morale, and reassuring customers and suppliers.

Before we get into the details of successful M&A, let's describe the types of acquisitions you will likely encounter.