M&A Due Diligence - $1B acquisition
The Situation
A global energy company entered negotiations with a public company for acquisition of several sub-companies for $1 billion cash. The due diligence plan needed to be controlled in order to ensure critical regulatory and financial activities were completed by the close date and to prioritize future activities by new management. A timely close and quick start on synergy opportunities was important to realize the financial benefits as quickly as possible.
The Intervention
Stephen partnered with the buyer’s Integration Lead and senior managers across the enterprise to create and execute a complete approach for managing and reporting on progress and due diligence issues.
- * Established working teams and developed and tracked detailed deliverables for nine major work groups (Legal, Human Resources, Finance, Operations, Technology, Marketing, Product, Sales, and Executive).
- * Managed the review and prioritization of the “synergy” opportunities.
- * Initiated and managed the high priority synergy opportunities
Project Result
Several challenges to the closing timeline emerged. However, the presence of the effective governance structure enabled the executive team to communicate timely decisions and action priorities. The working teams were able to re-plan weekly and avoid getting bogged down by conflicting expectations.
- Due-diligence problem areas were hi-lighted for closer management attention and the Acquisition closed on schedule.
- Integration synergy opportunities were prioritized, and preliminary work initiated prior to close.