HIGH FIVE

"A well-considered strategy and vision is critical to the success of a merger"

Gautam Sinha, CEO, Times Internet on five ways to ensurE  successful post-merger integration

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Published 4 years ago on Nov 05, 2019 1 minute Read
Vishal Koul

Finalise business strategy in advance: Most acquisitions and mergers happen after identifying key growth opportunities in business or service lines. While revenue synergies are an important part of the deal thesis, a well-considered strategy and vision on the way forward is critical to the success of such a transaction. This ensures any danger to value erosion or confusion is addressed early in the diligence process.

Retaining the restless and passionate: While blending diverse cultures and bringing together people of various age groups, a thoughtful and inclusive approach works. Tweaking key HR processes to accommodate a wider bunch of colleagues and adjusting to their working styles helps retain the intellectual capital post a merger/acquisition.

Nurturing an entrepreneurial culture: Intricate mechanisms must be put in place to ensure founders of the acquired companies are able to thrive within the larger ecosystem. Hence, it’s important to ensure that the entrepreneurs are given some autonomy to operate with the same amount of passion as they did before.

Aligning with the overarching vision: The group culture should not be overlaid on any acquired brand. At the same time, the brands must be clear about the overall corporate strategy that was envisioned at the time of the acquisition. 

Result-oriented approach: A merger-acquisition contract should be outlined based on key deliverables. This clarity in communication sets the perfect precedence. Thus, ambitious entrepreneurs also get the chance to dream bigger while leveraging the power of the group’s ecosystem — of an audience, monetisation, technology and processes, if and when they are ready for it.