Speed of execution in leadership shake-ups is the secret to M&A success M&A deals have a greater chance of success if acquirers move quickly to install a new leadership team at the target firm, a study shows. Research by Cass Business School found higher rates of deal success among acquirers which rapidly appointed a top team at the target while retaining a large proportion of the operational staff. The findings come from a report by Cass’s M&A Research Centre which reveals a series of fresh insights into improving returns from M&A deals. The study examined a sample of 70 large transactions completed by US and UK acquirers between 2007 and 2011, comparing those which were successful in creating shareholder value with a matched sample of those where shareholder value was destroyed. The findings showed that: Companies which retained operational staff boosted their success rate. Successful deals posted 63 per cent retention rates for operational and business personnel, while in the failed deals group the rate was 46 per cent six months after completion. Successful acquirers were quicker to remove and replace the senior executive team. In the successful group, only 38 per cent of CEOs and 19 per cent of CFOs remained in post six months after completion, compared to 44 per cent and 38 per cent respectively in the failed group. Companies with a greater focus on HR – measured by the existence of an HR committee at board level – are more successful acquirers. There were more than twice the number of HR- specific committees in the successful deal group than in the failure group. Scott Moeller, Director of the M&A Research Centre said: “M&A really is all about people, and the findings of this report certainly support that claim. With a significant proportion of deals still failing to generate shareholder value, a broader view of the dealmaking process, moving away from a too narrow fixation on numbers, is much needed. This report highlights the importance of planning to ensure a quick execution strategy and keeping the people issues at the core throughout the deal process.” The researchers also discovered other factors critical to deal success: Two-thirds of acquirers in the successful group shared more detailed information in public announcements about their plans, compared with just one-third of the failure group. In addition, deal-killer CEO declarations, such as “We will communicate more about the merger when we have more information to share”, were more common in the public announcements made by acquirers in the failure group. Businesses with the stated intention of acquiring to enhance or add capabilities to their existing systems (‘enhancing deals’) – as opposed to deals which were defined as ‘leverage deals’ or ‘limited fit deals’1 – were significantly more frequent in the successful group (34%) 1 ‘Leverage deals’ are defined as when acquirers apply their existing capabilities to the acquired company’s processes and products to improve their performance. ‘Limited fit deals’ are those acquisitions which do not improve or apply the capabilities of the acquirer. than in their failed counterparts (just 23%). Within the enhancing deals group, the percentage of successes where access to R&D or new technology were the stated intentions was much higher at 29% than for the failure group, with only 9%. Focusing on strategic enhancement therefore leads to higher performance than, for example, a consolidation deal on its own. “The importance of clear, detailed and honest communication around the announcement of a deal is an area which is often overlooked in dealmaking. Clear communication can be viewed as an extension of significant pre-planning, which should make the intent of the transaction more straightforward, both to understand and articulate. Failing to provide clear directions for internal and external shareholders at the beginning of a deal is shown to have a negative impact on deal performance in the study,” said Anna Faelten, Deputy Director of the M&A Research Centre. Despite the apparent importance of people management in the deal process, a second study released as part of the same report found that many companies fail to involve their HR teams in deals early enough. The study, based on a survey of more than 30 HR and non-HR executives, found that less than ten per cent of companies involve HR at the targeting stage, but more than eighty per cent do so at the integration stage. According to the survey, the number one issue cited as a contributor to failed deals was culture. Other key reasons were leadership, compensation and benefits and employee relations. As a result, the study identifies a priority list of HR areas which can improve M&A transaction success, the top five of which are culture, leadership, compensation and benefits, employee relations and retention. The report, entitled ‘Successful Dealmaking’, is published by the M&A Research Centre, part of Cass Business School, City University London. Media enquiries: Chris Johnson, Senior Communications Officer, Cass Business School Tel: +44 (0)20 7040 5210 E-mail: [email protected] Notes to Editors: Cass Business School, which is part of City University London, delivers innovative, relevant and forward-looking education, consultancy and research. Cass is located in the heart of one of the world’s leading financial centres. It has strong links to both the City of London and its corporate, financial and professional service firms, as well as to the thriving entrepreneurial hub of Tech City – located close to the School. Cass’s MBA, specialist Masters and undergraduate degrees have a global reputation for excellence, and the School supports nearly 100 PhD students. Cass offers one of the widest portfolio of specialist Masters programmes in Europe. It also has the largest faculties of Finance and Actuarial Science and Insurance in the region. 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