David Braun
Author's posts
5 Tips for Taking a Strategic Approach to M&A in 2016
Acquisition can be a powerful tool for accelerating your company’s growth. 2016 may be the year you build on your capabilities, add new services or products, gain new customers or enter new markets. However, it’s important not to get swept away in the excitement of a deal and to remain strategic. A carefully planned, strategic …
4 Reasons Why Focusing on Small Acquisitions is Best
In light of recent FTC rulings against market domination, Sysco has changed its M&A strategy to focus on smaller, strategic deals rather than large transformative deals. Although Sysco’s change is motivated by regulatory obstacles to larger acquisitions, using strategic, smaller deals is an excellent approach from a strategic perspective. We have long recommended that our …
Middle Market Companies Holding Onto Cash
Instead of investing in growth, companies this year have been holding more than $1.4 trillion in cash – close to a record $1.65 trillion in 2014. Oracle’s $56 billion cash stockpile is 1.5 times its sales and Cisco’s $60 billion in cash is 1.2 times its sales. Eleven companies have cash reserves double their annual …
Due Diligence: When Do You Call Off the Deal?
Cultural due diligence is a critical task in the acquisition process. It exposes hidden problems and risks, but also may identify opportunities. However, if you do uncover red flags, you may need to reevaluate the deal. Sometimes you must simply call it off. We have walked away from a transaction when due diligence revealed a …
Your Role as Leader in a Successful Integration
Effective leadership plays a critical role in integrating companies following an acquisition. Challenges abound, for instance when disagreements arise between the executive team and the rest of the staff. How do you bridge the gap? Communicate painful decisions? Maintain calm during a period of change? As the leader of an integration process, you should: Be …
Expedia Follows Demand for Alternate Lodging, Buys HomeAway
Expedia will buy HomeAway, a vacation rental site, for $3.9 billion. With this acquisition — its largest since buying Orbitz in 2014 for $1.3 billion — Expedia will compete more directly with Airbnb. Airbnb, through which people rent their homes to travelers, has become more popular in recent years, both with consumers looking for a …
The Middle Market Guide to Navigating Through the Wave of Healthcare M&A
The pharmaceutical and healthcare industry shows no sign of slowing down in terms of M&A and consolidation. There have already been $427 billion in transactions according to Dealogic data. Last week Pfizer and Allergan announced that they are currently in merger talks to form one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Certainly one …
Are You Neglecting Company Culture in Acquisitions?
Culture can often be neglected simply because it is difficult to measure, especially when compared to hard facts such as number of employees or company revenue. After all, what constitutes a “good” culture? Definitions may vary from company to company and even among members of your own acquisition team. Despite this challenge, company culture should …
5 Ways to Quickly Lose a Deal
It goes without saying that the introductory meeting is a crucial step of the acquisition process. If it goes well, your partnership could result in a successful deal. If it goes badly, you may be throwing away a great opportunity and have wasted hours of time and resources chasing the deal. Your goal for the …
Make It or Break It: How You Can Avoid Culture Clashes in Mergers & Acquisitions
Culture clashes can make or break a deal. Just think about a few infamous deals that fell apart, such as the Time Warner-AOL merger in 2001. In Deals from Hell, Robert Bruner analyzes the reasons for failure in depth along, including examples of deals that failed due to cultural issues. In fact, cultural issues are …
