Service objectives

The following list represents the Key Service Objectives (KSO) for the Appleton Greene Strategic Growth service.RoadMap Creation
Perhaps the most important and broad aspect of Strategic Growth is in the development of the organization’s RoadMap (RM). The challenge for any organization is in in trying to lay out the “right” RM. How does the organization ultimately get to where it wants to go, to where it envisions being, etc. Many companies work on the practical aspects of the business, the day to day grind of selling more products or services, developing relationships in order to do so, managing developmental or manufacturing costs, creating new products to usurp the competition or at least keep up with the competition, etc. Creating a RoadMap is different. It clearly defines what the end objective is, the route you will take, the conditions that will be required to make the trip successful with consideration to the time frame, cost, risk, resources, tools, skill-sets and capabilities that are critical in doing so. Growth doesn’t happen immediately, but laying the foundation to doing so, can happen quickly. Developing a RM involves understanding the organizational structure, what works and what may impede growth. Competitive awareness; where does the company really align within the marketplace and what will be required to be positioned to where the company will need to be to make the trip and to arrive at its intended destination. Capabilities; what are the current realistic competences, abilities, skills of the organization currently to be able to complete the trip, or does the organization need to consider new or different capabilities and tools in which to do so. For the organization to develop a successful RM it will also require the development of tools to monitor its performance and actions to take to “course-correct” when performance isn’t aligned with goals. To do so, we will define Key Performance Indicators; key components that will be critical metrics for how the company should be performing and then become not only a part of the daily/weekly or monthly monitoring but also a part of the organizational culture. Together with the KPIs we will develop a dashboard of departmental or business sector metrics to look at each area more specifically towards goals and performance on a more focused “day to day” basis. Ultimately, creating the RM will provide an organization with a clearly defined Strategic “end-point” or destination. Together with this, the areas that do and will need to be addressed to get there and the necessary tools to be developed and implemented to support this Strategic Growth journey.

B/D Alignment

Business Development is much more than targeting and selling. It is not only external to the organization in nature but very much internal. Companies can definitely grow through strong business development efforts. However, the key to successful strategic business development is determining the customers and markets that are key to the RM and the necessary support and infrastructure required and crucial to it working properly. In Business Development alignment, I work together with the organization’s key internal leaders to develop a foundation of looking at the entirety of the marketplace and the opportunities presented. A secondary RM is developed to look at new customer, new market and geographical opportunities and determining what will be required to make these opportunities realizable. Are product enhancements, changes or completely new products required? Do the company’s current products and services address the needs of the marketplace that the organization is doing the majority of business in or does it need to adapt to the changes in its customer base, and further to any newly defined customer opportunity or market? The word “alignment” is most critical here. Many companies are excellent at having or are successful at acquiring strong “hunters”, only to find that the hunter is not in alignment with the organizations capabilities, resources, scheduling, and/or ability to adapt to new needs of the marketplace that the hunter(s) has uncovered and potentially has made commitments to. During Business Alignment, I work to help create a system of overall Business Development. This addresses the development of communication and processes that align the external business development and sales aspect with the internal components of engineering (or service development), manufacturing, and financial capabilities and support. It creates a seamless goal-centric model of aligning all functional areas both strategically and procedurally.

Cultural Development
Cultural Development is another way of saying Organizational Development or Organizational Behavior. Each company has its own unique culture. Typically developed over time and led by its founder, or executive leader at the time. If consistent, the company (its people) will mirror the behaviors and beliefs of the leader. However, what is crucial in the next step of Strategic Growth is making sure that the current culture is in sync with the direction of which the company is looking to go. If the culture for example has been risk adverse in the past, then the culture of the company would suggest that aggressive growth will be met with push-back and an discomfort to doing things otherwise. Strategic Growth comes from understanding the culture of the company currently and recognizing if changes to the culture will be required to move the organization in the growth direction that has been set and established as a targeted goal. I work to understand and define the often hidden “mantra” of the organization, its sense of purpose and its alignment with its people towards this sense of purpose. I work to define what the overall belief system is that has been developed within the organization as to its collective understanding of the direction and value that the organization brings to the market/customers and its employees. Through this, I work with key leaders and influencers of the organization to begin to develop a culture that will be required for Strategic Growth to happen. In many cases the foundation is there and just needs reinforcing with tools and programs. In other cases, the company must realize that its current culture is not in alignment with the direction that will need to be taken for it to be successful. We work together to recognize the areas that are inconsistent and develop a Cultural RoadMap for creating beliefs, values and behaviors that are consistent and reinforced throughout the organization. I will work to help “bridge the gap” towards creating organizational behavior that is in alignment with the goals of the organization, that help to grow the organization and create additional value for the organization and help to instill an overall feeling and “reward” of achievement for its people.

Change Management

As organizations grow, they ultimately need to change to some extent. Managing that change or rather preparing the organization for change is imperative to its ability to grow. Most people and organizations resist change, because change is uncomfortable. The imperative to making change work is in addressing operational aspects of the organization that need to re-evaluate how they perform their functions towards growth. I work with all functional areas to determine where “change” will be a barrier to success. Recognizing barriers is in no way an assumption that things are being done wrong currently, but perhaps not what is required to grow strategically. As such, it is important to recognize not only day to day operational procedures and internal systems that may be barriers to change but also to build upon current procedures and systems to augment their foundation into more robust entities. I work to build avenues and RoadMaps for guiding and managing change. Change Management helps organizations recognize the procedural, system and cultural aspects that need to be addressed. It also helps to understand the transitional phases that an organization needs to go through for change and the Situational Leadership required in which to guide the organization through this. Each organization will have a simplified bell curve of 1. Early Adopters; that believe in the new vision (25%), 2. Refusers; that will fight change no matter what (25%) and 3. Fence Sitters; that will go along with change or pay “lip service” to change until it is proven towards one camp or another (50%). It is within this latter segment that the company needs to focus and bring along key employees and influencers towards “change”. During Change Management, I work to help create the communication of the vision that has been defined for the company. Assist leadership in transitioning their teams through the process while also recognizing and working on areas that will be crucial to incorporating an environment of “moving forward”. This incorporates building “wins” for change and determining key influencers within the Refuser category that may need to be brought along to effect overall buy-in to achieving Strategic Growth. Change Management is creating the Vision for the company, detailing a RoadMap to get there, and then developing the necessary tools and consistent behaviors required to help the organization and its people adopt and adapt to working differently than before.

Growth Avenues

Growth is no longer a simple matter of selling more widgets or services, or creating new unique products or services that capitalize on the needs of the market at any given time. Organic Growth as defined here is certainly that. It is critical towards building not only a secure financial platform but also a market presence. Taking and building from the Business Alignment Objective, we will work on developing both internal and external avenues for growth. Internally, I will work with the organization to define growth what markets, products, resources and capabilities will the company need to develop to grow the organization organically. This is both Strategic as well as Operational. For Organic Growth to take place and be a key component to a company’s overall Strategic Growth goals, the organization will need to recognize that its revenue growth be achieved both by its business development activities as well as its internal support mechanisms. Successful organic growth comes from developing clear market needs and targets and then creating an infrastructure that defines these needs, and develops the products or services to meet the market demands. At the same time procedurally developing the financial capability to finance and support new and additional revenue opportunities. It’s all about creating or ensuring that the organizations’ financial structure and tools are in place to do so. Externally, I will work together with both the strategic and financial leaders of the organization to develop plans for growth through acquisition. A common belief of many organizations is that they are too small, not capitalized well enough, don’t have a significant position in their market to acquire a new entity, etc. The reality is that a company with the right infrastructure, the right RoadMap (RM), strong visualization and targeting of who they are and where they want to be can do so. With the development of the right financial tools and relationships, the organization can carve out financial planning around creating avenues for working “on” the company and not just merely “in” the company. From this, the organization can then become the “Cat” to the “Mouse”. I work to develop both Internal and External Strategic Growth Avenues for the organization. In doing so, I help insure that the organization/company is exercising all its strategic options and creating yet another RoadMap (RM) of its financial positioning and capabilities. Definition of candidates for acquisition or strategic alliances/additions is a key component and catalyst for any financial function to either get energized or develop a sense and a role towards Strategic Growth. Ultimately, this helps and challenges the organization’s key financial proprietors with defining and developing tools that can potentially fit with the strategic RoadMap, its overall sense of direction and ultimate end-point.

Executive summary

Acquisitive Growth

In today’s context of changing markets, technologies and business models, and in conjunction with historic levels of available capital, acquisitive growth has emerged as an increasingly compelling approach to transformational growth. However, as has been empirically proven growth through acquisitions is fraught with pitfalls and inherently risky. Successfully acquisitive growth requires the confluence of many factors that go beyond the traditional phased steps of a typical process. In my experience success is a function of bringing together the elements of people, processes, and technologies into a set of capabilities that are custom-made for an organization’s particular strengths, circumstances and aspirations. Winning in today’s dynamic markets demands bold, unique and sustainable strategies. The following are the stages of such an approach that I have found to create high probability, profitable growth that stands the test of time.

Additionally, while the M&A industry has many advisors available, they tend not to be operating executives who have lived through all the elements I will lay out below. Many simplistic guidelines exist, however what its clear is that the difference between success and failure with acquisitive growth is not in rote adherence to some set of processes, rather it is found in the combination of process discipline and strong application of experiential, practical knowhow. The nature of this knowhow is to apply and allocate the elements below in a smart, efficient manner to achieve exemplary outcomes for the specific client’s unique situation and circumstances.

Strategy Development: Whether at the corporate level or in a specific business unit, clients would be taken through steps to clarify the markets and segments where they currently compete and where they want to go in the future, what differentiates them from competition, where capabilities need to be refined or built, and the various functional elements (e.g. systems, processes, structures, etc.) critical to sustain profitable growth. Approach would be a combination of review of current strategies/capabilities, interviews and facilitated discussions and structured workshops. Outcomes might be a strategy to bring a particular business into a new growth phase or to meet changing competitive environments, or at the enterprise level might entail “platform building” whereby new businesses, sectors or legs are build from the ground up through foundational initial acquisitions and subsequent organic and inorganic initiatives.

Market Focus: Where will we hunt for acquisition targets? If a company allows too-wide of a scope will find themselves suffering from expensive resource drains/distractions and/or dilute efforts. Therefore, following the alignment of enterprise/business strategies the process will seek to focus the market segments and the business criteria to qualify a company to be elevated to possible target.

Research Possible Targets: Simply put, take the descriptions and criteria from above and create lists of potential targets that might fit. Each such company is researched for available information, any currently available knowledge the client might have, etc. Output is a gross list of possible targets.

Target Approach: Utilizing a number of possible approaches, one that is appropriate for the client is determined. For example, some companies may have business development or sales teams who could participate in this stage, or on the other hand for reasons such as confidentiality, resource scarcity, etc this might need to be put into the hands of specific individuals (senior executives, dedicated M&A executives, 3rd party services, etc.). Each company is different, so this is an exercise of matching needs with capabilities. The objective is to screen the gross target list to elminate those who have “killer facts” such as big contingent liabilities, prohibitive complexity such as a company with a complex ownership structure, our any other aspects that renders a target not acceptable for the next step.

Cultivation: This is a very critical part of the overall process. The essence of this authentic, genuine and meaningful relationship-buidling which requires a combination of individuals with certain skill-sets to ‘sell’ the prospects on being acquired, patience and persistence. I have many approaches, processes and techniques that I have and continue to use to great effect in this regard. Output is a short list of interested targets who have moved to active discussions and in-person meetings.

Target Assessment: During the cultivation phase as it gets more advanced, a critical success factor for effective acquisitive growth is the ability to narrow the list with limited amounts of information. This is important because the next phase is quite intensive so any company can not practically thoroughly assess all such targets. In other words, how does a client gain the insights needed to do this? Some might consider this the ‘phase I due diligence’ whereby, prior to the engagement of expensive resources such as lawyers, accountants, etc., an overview of a target’s current status is determined. Through structured and open discussions, the client engages in discussions with the targets to learn as much as possible..

Preliminary Offer: Structuring of a term sheet or letter of intent based on finding to date. Depending on these findings, certain terms may be included to lay out a) value expectations; b) focus for due diligences and commitment to support it; and c) various legal terms typical for these agreements. This tend to be non-binding agreements meant to establish exclusivity of dealings for a period of time, high level terms that both parties agree to, and confidentiality. Given my background, I have the abilility to craft these documents with minimal legal cost.

Due Diligence: This is yet another element of acquisitions that can take several different forms. Depending on the situation and capabilities of both clients and targets, due diligence activites tend to have different scopes and approaches that match each particular circumstance. A simple example would be a private company target versus a public company. With the latter, sellers often limit potential acquirers to only publicly available information whereas private companies may have limited information at their disposal. Therefore, each approach must be designed for purpose, with the output being a customized plan for a particular target. This leads to both more efficient and cost effective processes as well as deeper insights to help with final decisions.

Deal Making: After the due diligence phase, and with a set of terms already agreed, the negotiations begin to finalized the terms of value, liabilities and the myriad legal and busses considerations that must be addressed and finalized. Whether as chief negotiator or as a trusted advisor to the same, I would bring my experience and talent to bear on this phase as well as some structured approaches/guidelines.

Integration Planning: Concurrent with the commencement of due diligence, full attention is required to determine the structure, resources, plans and teams for post-closing integration. Specific approaches and processes would be employed here to ensure that a proper integration leader is named (critical), robust but prioritized integration plans (e.g. IT and Finance integration might be a first priority for some companies), organizational and assimilation plans, and specific actions in several other area. Among the more difficult and critical elements of integration is culture. While culture is a key consideration in the pre-offer phases, it tends to be among the more challenging aspects to successful acquisitions and an area where experience from a career of hands-on accountability of acquisitions brings valuable insights. Several pro-active approaches can be introduced to the clients to determine which is best to employ with any particular integration.

Execution: From plans to execution requires much more than a roadmap. While such roadmaps are critical, it is the confluence of leadership and human capital, prioritized focused actions to achieve specific results, and finally sustainable integration to bring into the client’s company the full potential of the value creation possible. Tools exist and can be created to provide structure and management support to achieve this consistently.

Important And Strategic Elements Of A Growth By Acquisition Approach

This program has thus far concentrated on the role that acquisition strategies play in driving growth.

However, this assumes that the acquisitions are carried out properly on its own. Experience has shown that acquisitions may both produce and destroy value, with the execution of the transaction typically making the difference.

The following are crucial and strategic elements that support successful acquisitions:

• Considering strategic fit: Purchasing merely for the sake of purchasing is little more than management hubris. The target businesses should in some manner meet the needs of the buyer’s company strategy (i.e. product or service line, geographic reach, etc.).

• Addressing culture fit: Due to cultural mismatches between the two merging organizations, some of the largest mergers in history have failed. It is important to take into account a company’s culture because it directly affects how it creates value.

• Doing thorough due diligence: This guarantees that the buyer “looks beneath the hood” of the company they are buying and that the price they are looking to pay for the company reflects its intrinsic value.

• Integration: Even when the share purchase agreement’s ink dries, the deal is not finalized. The two businesses must now start an integration process to ensure that they grow into something greater than the sum of their individual parts.

Advantages Of Growth Acquisition

10 advantages of expanding your company through acquisition

If you’re deciding whether to enter into an acquisition contract, you might wish to take into account the following list of acquisition benefits:

1. Strengthens a failing business

The company you work for might be going through a period of underperformance, and an acquisition might be the answer. The ability to work together as a team rather than alone may be a key factor in the business’ success. As you get to share resources with the company you’re merging with, this can assist keep the business from failing.

2. Secure financing for growth

By making an acquisition, a company might gain access to money or other important assets that it might not otherwise have at its disposal. You can easily acquire these assets with the aid of an acquisition. The firm and its employees may benefit from collaborating with a company that has sufficient resources because the development of the enterprise is the ultimate objective.

3. Have access to skilled personnel of high caliber

An acquisition can aid in boosting both the amount and quality of employees who are knowledgeable about the demands of the company. The experienced staff often stays on the firm payroll after an acquisition is completed so they can integrate. Their business acumen contributes to the companies’ success after the merger

4. Expand the company’s market.

The corporation may diversify its offerings of goods and services as a result of the acquisition. You can make a variety of goods and distribute them to various target consumers. An acquisition often aids in a company’s development and growth.

5. Increase market influence

When you enter a new market, making an acquisition might help you combine market forces and exercise control. The synergy it offers increases your market presence and market share. If you plan to establish branches or subsidiary businesses, an acquisition may assist you lessen competition and preserve market dominance.

6. Make sure more capital is available.

Because the company is now larger after an acquisition, access to cash is improved. Higher cash and funds are available and accessible as a result of the arrangement. Amountable capital may be extended to both companies according on the agreement the companies come to when making the purchase.

7. A decrease in training expenses

Through an acquisition, your company may be able to cut internal training costs by using resources from the other acquired company. The cost of employee training is not necessary if the acquired firm develops its resources. You can use the company’s resources, depending on their state of development, to train other employees so they can develop their skill set.

8. Boost the competitiveness of your business

A purchase can take care of the requirement to adhere to higher standards as a result of the development in technical advancements. By joining forces with a smaller company that possesses the required technologies, a larger corporation can maintain its competitive position. Long-term gains from this may accrue to both businesses.

9. Lower production expenses

If you can use another company’s production facilities, facilities, and storage space, merging with them can save your production expenses. Building these kinds of facilities can be expensive, but if the business expands, it might be necessary. Sharing resources could significantly affect the budget and production costs.

10. Enable you to fulfill stakeholder expectations

Stakeholders could have expectations for the company’s growth, and making an acquisition is an effective strategy to achieve such expectations. An purchase increases the likelihood of investment returns, which may gratify the stakeholders. The pressure from the stakeholders can be handled more easily by making an acquisition, and you can even surpass their expectations.

What To Watch Out For During The Entire Acquisition Growth Process

Investigating less evident problems within the target company is the goal of the due diligence procedure.

This ranges from contracts with sizable clients that are about to expire to potential legal proceedings resulting from past business decisions.

But there are a few things that the buyer should watch out for on a more strategic level.

They consist of the following:

• Culture: Even if this phrase keeps coming up, it is crucial to the success of M&As. The culture of the target company should be thoroughly researched by prospective buyers in order to have a sense of what they are getting into.

• Competitive Edge: Is the target company “plain vanilla” or does it engage in any activities that offer it a competitive advantage (which we’ll define as the capacity to produce above-market value over the long term)?

• Leadership: Would the target company’s leadership complement your own leadership team in a positive way? Spend some time with them while conducting your research to see whether this might be the case.

• Possibilities: Are there any prospects that the target firm can take advantage of that your business won’t be able to in the near future? Let’s say it’s because of a service or product line they offer that is expected to see rapid expansion.

• Synergies: Where do your two companies’ synergies lie? Are they really complementary, or does purchasing the target company actually run the danger of causing some of your company’s income streams to be cannibalized?

Program Objectives

The following list represents the Key Program Objectives (KPO) for the Appleton Greene Acquisitive Growth corporate training program.

Acquisitive Growth – Part 1- Year 1

Part 1 Month 1 Business Assessment – Assessments can be incredibly valuable tools for organizations of all sizes. A comprehensive assessment methodology can help you evaluate your organization across multiple dimensions. But what are business assessments, what do they entail, and what are the benefits? Business assessments can help you identify areas of improvement and potential acquisitive growth. By taking a comprehensive approach, you can get an accurate picture of your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. Assessments can also help you develop actionable plans to improve your business. At their core, business assessments are all about providing clarity. When you’re feeling overwhelmed by the day-to-day details of running a business, it can be difficult to step back and get a clear picture of where your company is headed. That’s where assessments come in. By taking a comprehensive look at your company’s strengths and weaknesses, you can develop a clear road map for success. Assessments are an essential part of any business plan. By evaluating your company’s strengths and weaknesses, you can develop a roadmap for growth. Furthermore, assessments can help identify areas where your company may be at risk. By addressing these risks early on, you can avoid potential problems down the road. In addition, assessments can help you benchmark your company’s performance against others in your industry. This benchmarking process can give you valuable insights into areas where your company may need to improve. Ultimately, regular business assessments are a crucial tool for any organization that is looking to grow and thrive.
Part 1 Month 2 Strategic Aspiration – A Winning Aspiration defines the purpose of your enterprise, its guiding mission and aspiration, in strategic terms. The first choice of the strategic choice cascade is winning aspirations. Here we ask, “what is our winning aspiration.” Strategically, our winning aspiration defines our purpose. Aspirations are a view of the future. Qualified with “winning,” it is the ideal future that we strive to achieve. Unless you deliberately set out to win, it is impossible to do so. A business that only wants to participate rather than succeed will invariably fall short of making the difficult decisions and large investments necessary to succeed. Aspirations that are too modest rather than lofty are much more harmful. Most businesses fail because they have low expectations.
Part 1 Month 3 Segment Focus – Every company aspires to grow. But, in a market where competition is fierce, inorganic business growth requires insight and innovation. Segmenting the market and customers is among the most effective techniques to promote acquisitive growth. Yet as numerous businesses have shown, artful segmentation can result in a significant competitive advantage. The purpose of segmentation is to inform your marketing approach. Using this method, it is feasible to recognize and categorize groups of potential clients based on their shared preferences, needs, and interests. This method effectively identifies the demographics most likely to value a specific good or service you provide. Furthermore, it may assist you in positioning that service so that it outperforms that of your rivals.
Part 1 Month 4 Targeted Offerings – Everything the market offers, be it products or services or any experience, is known as a market offering. Market offerings are also divided among themselves based on the nature of the offering. Read along to understand the role and value of market offerings. Individuals within a market have different wants and needs. As a result, businesses in the market offer various products and services. The ultimate aim of businesses is to fulfill all the varying wants and needs of the population. Providing better target offerings and standing out in the market will eventually lead to more loyal customers and a broader customer base. People expect businesses to add value to their lives in various ways, precisely the purpose of market offerings – satisfying customer needs.
Part 1 Month 5 Target Pool – The purpose of this workshop is to map out the offerings that one wants to develop or enhance for the focus segments defined by WDP3. A target pool is at the intersection of Targeted Offerings and Focused Segments. For example, if your strategy is focused on growing a currently manufactured product beyond your existing markets, you’ll want to know all the players who make these products in the markets where you don’t currently play but aspire to. In this simple case, the target pool would be derived by researching the current suppliers in these focus segments and profiling them for certain things such as size, channels to market, etc. The approach of this workshop is to take the Targeted Offerings and in a way and ‘map’ them with the Segment Focus areas we developed previously. In reality you might only need to do one or few of these approaches, but the workshop can develop the understanding and skills to do this work, which is in essence synthesizing the ‘strategic play’ associated with any acquisitive growth program.
Part 1 Month 6 Target Identification – Target identification in acquisitive growth is the process of identifying potential companies or assets that align with the strategic objectives of the acquiring company. It involves conducting comprehensive research, market analysis, and due diligence to evaluate various factors such as financial performance, growth potential, synergies, industry trends, competitive landscape, and cultural fit. The goal is to identify targets that offer strategic value and can contribute to the acquirer’s growth, profitability, market position, or diversification objectives. This process requires careful evaluation, consideration of risks, and alignment with the acquiring company’s overall M&A strategy to ensure successful integration and value creation.
Part 1 Month 7 Target Approach – All business investors are “financial” investors – the real question is how “strategic” is their ability to leverage the assets of the target. Providing practical guidance on approaching a business target and conducting initial due diligence depends on the investor’s criterion, competencies, and execution bandwidth. At this point, you will have identified a target or group of targets and you are attempting to learn enough about the target to determine whether to proceed with developing a meaningful indication of interest. Of course, an active seller is likely prepared for the sale process and represented by an advisor who is postured to provide the financial and operating information necessary for investors to quickly determine the suitability of a deal (i.e., a pitchbook and defined protocols for communication and information access). However, many desirable targets may not be seeking a sale because business conditions are favorable, and their businesses have been managed to provide options to the owners regarding continued independence and turn-key ownership and management succession. If the former, you, as a prospective buyer may have already pinged on the radar of the seller, and if the later, you have mined for target opportunities and are ready for the next step to accomplish an acquisition.
Part 1 Month 8 Deal Approach – The M&A landscape is becoming increasingly competitive and the balance of power is shifting further in favour of buyers. For attractive businesses, however, sellers may wish to make divestments through an auction process which is designed to elicit competitive bidding among interested parties to facilitate the sale of a business or stake in a company at the highest price and on the best possible terms. Not all transactions require collaboration between the buyer and the seller, however. In many instances, an auction is still a better approach than a negotiation. The trick is in knowing which process to use when. To make that choice, you need to clearly understand your potential buyers, the characteristics of the asset in question, your own priorities, and the relative importance of speed and transparency to obtaining the best price.
Part 1 Month 9 Cultivation – (non-auction)
Part 1 Month 10 Cultivation – (organized process)
Part 1 Month 11 Confirm Target – Assuming initial contact and conversations go well, the acquirer asks the target company to provide substantial information (current financials, etc.) that will enable the acquirer to further evaluate the target, both as a business on its own and as a suitable acquisition target. After producing several valuation models of the target company, the acquirer should have sufficient information to enable it to construct a reasonable offer; Once the initial offer has been presented, the two companies can negotiate terms in more detail.
Part 1 Month 12 Talent Assessment – Talent decisions can be made with less precision, discipline, and data but frequently require more complexity than other integration decisions (such as decisions about goods, markets, or customers). M&A leaders must “up their game” in talent assessment if they want to succeed. In the end, the acquirer must decide if current employees from the target (the acquired company) are the most qualified to carry out the goals of the new organization.