Mergers and Acquisitions

Accenture analysis shows that companies that flex their M&A muscle regularly often see better business results, building a strong foundation for future growth. Efficiency can be an important source of value, but increasingly deals are struck to gain innovation capabilities or access to highly skilled talent. In any case, it is critical that the merger or acquisition aligns with the long-term vision of the company.

Accenture found that just 27% of M&A deals resulted in both operating margin improvement and revenue growth. Looking at what drove the success of these transactions, we found that company leaders do two things in the short term that help in the long term. First, leaders created a long-term blueprint for the intended synergies and the new operating model prior to closing the deal. Second, a financially savvy executive remained involved post-close to ensure the company achieved the expected financial value from that blueprint.

For any company, growth and innovation don’t happen without the engagement of its people. Successfully addressing the talent side of the equation is key to maximizing M&A value. This includes making people partners in change and focusing on issues like culture and skilling as a deal progresses. In doing so, one size fits none: deal type and intent are key to determine the approach for designing the new organization.

Applying technology helps companies derive greater results from their deals. Using analytics techniques, teams can design the new, combined organization faster. Similarly, leaders are turning to cloud technologies to both smooth and speed deal making and integration. Overall, digital technologies can add speed and certainty, while fostering new M&A-related business models previously not possible.