• Transforming M&A Integration into a core capability and a competitive advantage
The ability to effectively integrate a foreign target company and its
culture is the single most important success factor of cross-border
M&A.
It is no secret that world-class companies treat Integration management like a distinct
business
function. For them, Integration management has become a single core
capability. They apply the best practices of M&A integration.
We assist our clients in implementing the best practices of M&A
integration. We make your own M&A Integration Process become a
competitive advantage in the marketplace.
The key to Integration success lays in early planning. Acquisition integration
needs to be prepared well ahead of the closing. The earlier our clients
chart an Integration course in their overall M&A process, the most
likely they will unlock future integration value.
Acquisition integration is not just a stage following the deal. It is
an "adaptive" process
that begins with Due Diligence and runs through the ongoing management
of the new enterprise - it is an ongoing process, melding technical
aspects and different cultures.
At LENZ International, we take a project management approach when it comes
to integrating an acquired company or a business. We aim to help our
clients realise their objectives when they start to integrate a company or a
business cross-border from France or Germany.
From years of hands-on experience with M&A integration, we have
developed best practices, advanced project management skills, tools
templates and methodologies for all integration phases, from
Pre-acquisition integration design through the Integration
implementation and the Post-implementation support phase.
We advise our clients on actions and decisions to be made in
anticipation of the integration. We partner with clients across levels and functions within their
organisation. We help in planning the Acquisition Integration Process.
We assist in reviewing issues like the form, the degree and the
intensity of the integration, the right timing of the
implementation, the internal and external communication and
announcement plans and the building-in, along the process, of measures and milestones.
At LENZ International, we aim to give clear direction and support to
the Integration Process. During a cross-border acquisition, we advise
our clients how key
local factors- such as the target’s organisational set up, its culture,
local national regulations, the envisioned deal structure or the
negotiated legal frame - will influence the post-closing integration.
We
help in building the new organisation, we assist in assuring that
expected synergies are captured and we project manage the local
implementation
process. From a cross-border view, we advise our clients on the key
success factors of the integration. We provide speed of delivery in a
clearly structured process in order to ensure successful roll-out.
At LENZ International, we always tailor the Integration Project to the
objectives of the client, with a
focus on all the cultural components of the process. Acquisition
Integration not only means dealing with "hard" issues, like the planned
synergies, but foremost with "soft" issues, like bridging cultural
gaps.
At LENZ International, we help address the cultural issues
head-on before unrecognized cultural issues may get in the way of
Acquisition Integration. We undertake a detailed Cross-cultural
Analysis - addressing the relevant national and corporate cultural
differences at play – in order to reach a shared understanding of
cultural differences between the acquiring and the acquired entities. We
advise on an optimal Cultural Integration Strategy and we deliver on a
Cultural Integration Plan.
Our clearly structured integration method consists of the following phases:
Phase 1 : Pre-acquisition Integration design
- Launching of the integration planning with the preparation of a Pre-Closing-Integration-Plan
including an initial integration concept consistent with the M&A Strategy behind the
transaction, the company’s overall growth strategy and the company’s fundamental basis of
competition,
- Modelling of the Integration concept,
- Focus of the Due Diligence on integration questions with the performance of a cultural
assessment of the target: using cultural indicators, presentation of the specificities of the local
national and company cultures,
- Identification of business and cultural barriers to integration success,
- Choice of a business and cultural integration strategy,
- Selection and staffing of the integration team,
- Deciding on integration leadership and responsibilities,
- Development of the Pre-Closing-Integration-Plan (implementation timeline, degree and speed
of integration, role/organisation and structure of the target’s management team, level of
employee participation in the implementation, merging of systems and back-offices),
- Planning the announcement, the employee communication and the briefing of managers.
Phase 2 : The « 100-day plan »
- Announcing the deal and implementation of the first integration measures,
- Preparation and distribution of a written communication pack (details, responsibilities,
timeline, duties),
- Organising orientation and planning sessions to convey new values, responsibilities,
challenges and rewards,
- Preparation and distribution of operational Integration guidelines,
- Coaching management and staff on critical cultural differences,
- Working closely with the Management of the acquired company to make its practices
consistent with the client’s requirements and standards,
- Training joint teams of employees on a project-by-project basis,
- Serving as a communication point for the Integration project.
Phase 3 : Integration Implementation (mid and long term)
- Reinforcing of key messages on vision, strategy and on the new corporate culture,
- Developing Business integration with the design of benchmarks, controlling tools and of
common practices and processes,
- Developing Personnel integration with advice on: people selection, employee retention,
division of decision-making authority, compensation system/incentives, career development,
evaluation practices, holding of training seminars and other events, design of an Intranet, the
new form of organisational structure,
- Developing Cultural integration with the view of building a shared performance culture
(progressively shifting the integration from project work to operational modus),
- Developing Systems and Back-office integration with advice on creating slimmer corporate
administration functions (shared services centers, etc.),
- Following-up of open issues,
- Managing the Integration in the long term.
|
|
