M&A · 7 min read
M&A That Creates Value: Deals Are Won After Signing
Most acquisitions destroy value — not because the thesis was wrong, but because integration was an afterthought. Here is where the value actually lives.
Buy a capability, not a logo
The best deals acquire something specific and hard to build — a capability, a market position, a technology, a team. Run VRIO on the target: are you really buying something valuable, rare, inimitable and organisable? If not, you're paying a premium for parity.
Price the synergies you can actually capture
Synergy models are where optimism goes to inflate. Separate cost synergies (real, if you execute) from revenue synergies (hopeful, usually late) and haircut accordingly. Overpaying for revenue synergy is the classic value-destroyer.
Integration starts in diligence
The integration plan — the 100-day operating model, the retention of key people, the systems and the culture — should be forming before you sign, not after. Value is created or lost in the first quarter post-close.
Decide what stays separate
Not everything should be integrated. Deliberately protect what made the target valuable while capturing scale where it helps. 7S alignment is the difference between one plus one making three and making one-and-a-half.
Work through this with Sudarshan.
Turn the thinking into a plan in a focused 1:1 strategy session.