“M&A is a mug’s game, in which some 70% to 90% of acquisitions are abysmal failures”, HBR
“83% of corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) fail to enhance shareholder value”, KPMG
“Most M&A deals do not manage to make up for the cost of the acquisition and the destruction of shareholder value” , PMI Partners
You get the message. M&A doesn’t deliver. Or does it?
Deals, deals, deals. Ambitious and exciting, press coverage and juicy fees for bankers. And then the deal is done and everyone moves on.
That’s not our view.
We think of M&A as an iceberg and the deal is just the visible tip. The massive dark hulking mass, invisible below the waterline is the post deal integration work and that is where the success or failure is determined. Months, sometime years of painstaking work to bring two businesses together across people & culture, policies & processes, and technology & systems. That is where the deal is lost or won.
We don’t just think this, we live it which is why our team composition is exactly the opposite of classic Private Equity. We are 80% integration and only 20% deal focused because that is where the hard work is done and the value is created.
We are not aloof moneymen who just turn up to board meetings. Rather, we partner with businesses and work alongside them on post-deal integration, in the trenches day after day to make a success of the deal.
And despite the horror stats, none of our deals have ever failed to create value. A 100% success rate.
Maybe, just maybe we are on to something.