Acknowledgments xi
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Who Should Use This Book? 2
How This Book Is Organized 2
A Word to the Wise 6
Chapter 2 Mergers and Acquisitions 101 and Assessing Integration Complexity and Risk 9
Mergers and Acquisitions 101 9
Understanding Transaction Types and Integration Scope 10
Assessing Integration Complexity and Risk 14
Assessing Integration “Debt” 19
The Evaluation and Measurement of Performance 22
Summary 22
Chapter 3 Making the Business Case for Integration 23
The Business Drivers of M&A Activity 23
Why M&A Can Be So Difficult 27
Making the Business Case for Integration Support 30
The Challenges of Integration 32
Integration Success Factors 36
Summary 37
Chapter 4 An Introduction to Integration Planning 39
Integration Activities 40
Integration Timetable Considerations 41
Integration and Business Planning 44
Managing the Change, People, and Potential Business Disruption 46
Summary 48
Chapter 5 The Pre-planning Phase 49
Key Activities 50
Reviewing Planning Documents 52
Assessing Potential Challenge Areas 55
Managing Integration Delays 59
Summary 60
Chapter 6 The Importance of Due Diligence 61
Due Diligence Documents Lists 63
A Few Words about IT Due Diligence 75
The Due Diligence Process and AI 76
Assessing “Integration Debt” 78
Summary 79
Chapter 7 Establishing an Integration Management Office 81
Setting Up an IMO Office 83
Determining Functional Resource Commitments 89
Setting Up an IMO Project Charter 94
A Note on Carve-outs 96
Summary 99
Chapter 8 Executing Your Integration Plan 101
Defining the Overall Integration Strategy 102
Developing the Functional Work Plans 104
Project Management Tools 107
Functional Work Plans 108
Integration Workstreams 110
Functions Requiring Extra Attention 118
Summary 123
Chapter 9 Planning Your Integration’s End State 125
How to Know When an Integration Is Finished 126
The Typical Process: Roles, Responsibilities, Tracking, and Finishing Well 130
Summary 134
Chapter 10 Effective Communication Planning 135
Communication Planning Objectives 136
Guiding Principles for an Effective Communication Plan 137
Establishing a Communication Matrix 138
Communication Planning and Execution Scope 149
Summary 152
Chapter 11 Managing Culture and Change During M&A 153
What Is Culture Exactly? 153
Managing Cultural Integration Activities 154
Managing Change During M&A 162
Summary 165
Chapter 12 HR Diligence and the Talent Assessment Process 167
Human Resource Diligence 168
Talent Assessment Guiding Principles 173
Talent Assessment Objectives 174
Evaluation Tools for Assessing Talent 174
Retention/Separation Guidelines and Policies 176
Dependencies for Talent Assessment/Retention and Separation Activities 183
Things to Avoid 185
Summary 186
Chapter 13 Synergy Program Management 187
“Synergy” in the M&A Context 188
Effectively Managing Synergies 192
Common Synergy Realization Pitfalls and Warnings 197
Summary 199
Chapter 14 Information Technology and Infrastructure Integration 201
IT Integration in M&A 201
IT’s Role During Early Integration Planning 202
Day 1 Planning 204
IT Workload Examples 206
Application Decisions 210
Summary 214
Chapter 15 Evaluating Integration Results and Improving Your Post-merger Integration Program 215
Improving Initial Deal Thesis Clarity 215
Measuring Progress at Day 90 (Close +90 Days) 219
Other Lessons Learned During Periods of Transformation 219
Additional Tips 227
Summary 228
Chapter 16 Creating an Integration Playbook 229
Example Playbook Phasing Constructs 232
Playbook Optimization 232
Applying the Playbook 236
Integration Manager Sample Job Description 237
IMO Process Documentation 240
Summary 241
Chapter 17 Artificial Intelligence and the M&A Process 243
Deal Sourcing 243
Due Diligence 244
The Valuation Process 244
Integration Planning and Execution 245
Summary 246
About the Author 247
Index 249
