M&A Science

Seema Nimmagadda, Head of M&A Integration for North America at Woven by Toyota, shares her expertise on effective M&A integration. She emphasizes that planning should begin well before closing the deal to avoid pitfalls. Seema discusses the importance of establishing an Integration Management Office (IMO) early on and aligning integration strategies with deal goals. She highlights the value of learning from past experiences and engaging functional leaders for successful outcomes, making integration a core component of the M&A process.

In this episode, experts discuss using M&A best practices for faster deals, target outreach, relationship-building strategies, challenges of private sellers, agile diligence, COVID impacts on deals, role of technology, and the future of tech in M&A.

Amy M. Weck, VP, M&A and integrations at The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers, LLC It's common to see due diligence and integration as separate stages, but combining them can make the M&A process much smoother and more effective. But how exactly can we weave these two critical phases together effectively?  In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Amy M. Weck, VP, M&A and integrations at The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers, offers practical strategies to align integration and diligence for optimal outcomes. Things you will learn in the episode: • Merging separate integration departments • How to connect diligence and integration • Fostering a ‘One Team’ Mindset • Maintaining Team Rhythm in High-Volume Acquisitions This episode is sponsored by FirmRoom. FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to https://firmroom.com. Episode Bookmarks 00:00 Intro 04:26 Getting into M&A 06:12 Evolving into integration 07:55 Transitioning from deal team to integration team 09:26 Pre-LOI considerations in M&A 10:40 Merging Corp Dev and Integration Team 13:26 The impact of mindset during transition 15:26 Connecting the two functions 18:42 Keeping teams and workflows aligned 22:14 Biggest challenge in the transition 24:05 The challenge of change management 26:11 Managing new hires in key roles 27:29 Key advice for managing the end-to-end M&A process 34:37 Optimizing the M&A function for a roll-up 36:21 Practical Tips for Learning from Past Due Diligence 38:16 Maintaining Team Rhythm in High-Volume Acquisitions 40:05 Key Strategies to Avoid Failing in Your Integrations 42:02 Key Questions to Ask Before the LOI 43:17 Evaluating Cultural Fit and Red Flags 48:15 Ideal candidate for an M&A role 59:44 Advice to first-time M&A practitioners 1:01:02 Craziest thing in M&A

John Blair, a Partner M&A Attorney at K&L Gates, specializes in guiding complex commercial transactions. He dives into the common issue of valuation disagreements in M&A and shares strategies to bridge those gaps, including earnouts and seller financing. John highlights the importance of detailed agreements and early legal involvement to prevent disputes. He also discusses the impact of current economic conditions on buyer-seller dynamics, offering insights into effective negotiation tactics and the significance of clear communication.

In the dynamic world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), creating an effective team is crucial for success. This process can be complex and demanding, but also immensely rewarding. After all, having an internal team means having the capability of acquiring companies in the future, rather than treating M&A as a one-time event.  In this episode, Birgitta Elfversson, Non-Executive Director at Netlight, shares her experience in transforming existing staff into M&A experts.  Things you will learn from this episode: • Shaping the M&A strategy • Building an M&A team • Scaling the M&A Team • Recruiting competent people • Managing burnout Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at https://dealroom.net Episode Bookmarks 00:00 Intro 10:54 Shaping the M&A strategy 12:46 Key elements of the strategy 14:58 Strategy approval 16:10 Challenges on the first acquisition 18:30 Building an M&A team  22:05 Scaling the M&A Team 25:10 Recruiting competent people 26:44 M&A Aptitude test 32:48 Working with consulting firms during M&A 37:17 Setting the external team up for success 39:08 M&A Team structure 39:48 Managing burnout 43:18 Programmatic M&A 49:09 Start up doing M&A 51:47 Integration execution 53:19 Smart collaboration in the future 55:51 Setting integration up for success 58:20 Craziest thing in M&A  

Jake Lin, Head of Corporate Development at Xendit, shares insights on negotiating cross border M&A in South East Asia. Topics include challenges, language barriers, cultural differences, best practices, integration approaches, and negotiation tips. Learn about handling speed, payment terms, and stock payments in cross border deals.

Yoav Zeif, CEO at Stratasys, shares insights on achieving business growth through strategic M&A. Topics include the start of their M&A journey, strategic M&A framework, evolution of strategy, working with the corporate development team, and ensuring positive business outcomes during integration.

Russ Heddleston, Co-founder & former CEO of DocSend, shares insights on sell-side M&A. Topics include considerations for selling a startup, balancing stakeholder interests, managing relationships in negotiations, key factors for a successful exit, challenges of sell-side M&A, and efficiently managing diligence.

Jason Mironov, Managing Director at TA Associates, discusses pros and cons of taking PE capital. Topics include lack of operating experience, board control, dilution for founders, building wealth, handling inbound contacts, and working with the founder.

Michael Frankel, Founder and Managing Partner of Trajectory Capital When times are good, big companies tend to ignore their smaller business units, as they operate smoothly on their own. It is only when the economy gets tough that these little businesses get more attention, and often seen as off-strategy or a distraction. That's when the company's leaders decide it's time to sell them, which is not ideal, as the business is no longer in their prime, making it harder to sell.  In this episode of M&A Science podcast, Michael Frankel, Founder and Managing Partner of Trajectory Capital, joins us to share his best practices of selling a small business unit. Episode Bookmarks 00:00 Intro 03:35 The decision to sell a business 05:01 Reasons to sell the business 06:43 Steps in selling a small business unit 09:59 Finding buyers 11:53 Avoid using bankers 13:30 Pitching the deal 14:50 Avoiding non-serious buyers 16:42 Important factors other than price 23:01 Real life example 27:54 Valuation gap 30:29 Evaluating the business 34:45 Hardest part of selling a small business unit 37:03 Advice for first time buyers 41:48 Proactively approaching a seller 47:25 Earnouts on small deals 48:44 Craziest Thing in M&A This episode is sponsored by FirmRoom, the fastest virtual data room used to get deals done. Leave the pay-per-page world behind by going to https://firmroom.com/