Welcome to Midagon's Mergers and Acquisitions Community!

The M&A Community started its work a few months back and we are now ready to share a couple of perspectives about what we're planning to do during the rest of the year. Our focus will be on supporting the client projects that we're currently working on, as well as facilitating the growth and skill development of our people. 

Taru Weckroth

20.4.2022

Since its founding, Midagon has worked on some of the most complex and high-profile M&A implementations in the market. Our clients turn to us when they require deep and practical expertise in M&A implementation. We combine hands-on experience from numerous integrations and carveouts (in both global and local companies) with a deep understanding of the most critical business domains – supply chain, financial management and ICT – and program management experience, proven methods, and concepts. 

At the same time, we want to learn and grow. Our plan is to discuss the whole deal flow, from strategy to transaction through to implementation and synergy realization over the course of the year. We will share best practices, research findings and client cases among our team. 

M&A strategy, ICT due diligence and M&A Program Management Office work as special focus areas

A couple of specific topics have already emerged that require special focus. Our clients are involving us in earlier stages of their M&A transactions. We have also recently developed our offering in M&A strategy and due diligence, especially ICT due diligence. 60-80% of the M&A implementation costs come from ICT, while more than half of the synergies available in a merger are strongly related to ICT. The success of any merger, acquisition or divestment, therefore, depends almost entirely on a practical and well-planned implementation. The critical role of ICT must be properly understood. The earlier this is considered, the better. We have the expertise to support our clients through these critical early steps.

Due to our extensive experience in effective and value-driven program management, we're are also often asked to help set up and run the whole implementation program. Our project managers often also run specific key project streams, such as ICT, finance, and supply chain. We will specifically investigate the best practices in M&A Project Management Office (PMO) - also often known as Integration or Separation Management Office (IMO/SMO) - setup, mobilization, and daily operations. Orchestrating the multiple tracks working in parallel under a very tight schedule and budget is one of the biggest challenges in M&A programs. This is where we can provide real value to our clients.  

We're also often asked to help formulate internal guidelines for clients that carry out M&A transactions on a regular basis. It makes sense to “industrialize” the M&A process and set a template - often called a Playbook - for future transactions. We typically merge existing client M&A know-how and Midagon's methodology. The Playbook is then jointly tested and piloted in real implementations. However, there is a risk that - if a Playbook is not very practical and relevant for daily work - it will not be used, becomes outdated and the investment will be lost. We want to make sure that our consultants adjust the best practices to our clients' strategies and daily realities, so that their work will deliver long-term value. 

These are just some of the themes that we will be addressing. We are also looking to collaborate with external partners in our community. There are several technology providers, information brokers and clients that we hope to invite to our events. However, we've only just scratched the surface on the possible types of collaboration. If you have a question about M&A for our consultants, please let us know. You can join our community for a quick lunch hour chat, a presentation or even a workshop. Welcome to Midagon's M&A community!