An M&A Guide for B2B Market-Leaders

By Connor Heard

Here at Delta-v, we believe that the current macroeconomic environment affords an opportune window for well-capitalized businesses to grow through acquisitions and fortify their positions as market leaders.  However, a successful M&A strategy depends on more than just capital; to unlock the full value of an acquisition, management teams need to successfully integrate the asset into the parent company. 

One Delta-v portfolio company that has done that especially well is Teamworks, which has acquired nine separate targets since inception.  We wanted to tap into the team’s experience and disseminate key lessons across the Delta-v portfolio, so we interviewed Anna Resman, SVP of Strategy and Operations, and Hilary Lerner, SVP of People and Culture, who lead Teamworks’s integration strategy. 

The output of that is a detailed, step-by-step playbook of best practices, timelines, and project management tips, which we’re pleased to provide to all Delta-v portfolio companies in Flight Plan, our content library and resource hub. 

We summarized the highlights below. If you'd like access to the full guide, reach out to your Delta-v contact (or if you're an existing Delta-v portfolio company, access the guide on Flight Plan!).

INTEGRATION STRATEGY:

M&A is an expensive undertaking, both in terms of capital and team time.  Set the foundation for success with clear company strategy and integration project ownership.  It’s the ultimate team sport: your whole leadership team should be involved, as every leader is responsible for the on-the-ground departmental playbook.

INTEGRATING TWO ORGS:

When people are one of the key assets of the acquired company, it’s critical to think about how to successfully integrate the two workforces.  Plan out employee communication around the announcement and integration meeting cadences.  Have a single, unified story for all employees; set up “integration 1:1” meetings with acquired personnel; and if applicable, travel to different office locations to deliver the message in person.

INTEGRATION TIMELINE:

The integration starts before the deal closes, and continues for months afterward.  Lay out your timeline, including:

  • Pre-LOI activities like relationship building
  • Pre-close activities like org chart planning
  • Day 1 activities like employee announcements and systems/IT changes
  • First-month activities like team blending and external market announcements
  • First-quarter activities like product integration and financial process consolidation

INTEGRATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT:

Each function will need to create its own plan for integrating teams, systems, and processes. Plan out an “integration playbook” with necessary tasks within the finance, people, sales & marketing, customer success & support, product & tech, and operations teams.

Acquisitions can be a powerful catalyst for growth, a boon to your customers, and driver of value creation for shareholders – especially if you invest the time and resources to ensure a successful integration.  We’re grateful to Anna and Hilary for sharing their insights!