The Synergy Solution
How Companies Win the Mergers & Acquisitions Game
Why—and how—business leaders need to rethink and reshape M&A deals to improve their success rate
Few other tools of corporate development and growth can change the value of a company—and its competitive future—as quickly and dramatically as a merger or acquisition. Yet, most companies fail to create shareholder value from these deals—and, in many cases, they destroy it and drag their organizations and customers through it in the process. This dynamic has been true since the M&A boom of the 1980s and continues today. It doesn’t have to be this way.
About the Book
The Synergy Solution will change how companies—managers, executives, and boards—think about and approach their M&A strategies and the performance promises they make to their shareholders. Beginning with a clear and well-accepted foundation of the economics of the M&A performance problem, Deloitte’s Mark Sirower and Jeff Weirens show acquirers how to develop and execute an M&A strategy—end-to-end—that both avoids the pitfalls that so many companies fall into and creates real, long-term shareholder value.
The Synergy Solution provides invaluable background to those considering M&A, laying out the issues they have to consider, how to analyze them, and how to plan and execute effectively. It also shows those who have already started the process of M&A how to maximize their chance of success. Authors Weirens and Sirower dig into:
- How to develop an M&A strategy and a pipeline of dealsHow to test the investment thesis of a deal
- How to decide what premium to pay
- How to plan for a successful announcement day
- How to properly communicate performance promises to stakeholders and shareholders
- How to realize those promised synergies through integration planning and post-close execution
- How to build a new combined organization
- How to anticipate the questions of an informed board
Advance Praise for THE SYNERGY SOLUTION
"The Synergy Solution is an instant M&A classic. In their no-nonsense approach, Sirower and Weirens describe in great detail the discipline and hard work required throughout the M&A process to realize the promised value from deals and avoid the pitfalls. I highly recommend this book for any leader who wants to play the acquisition game."
– Bob Swan, Operating Partner, Andreessen Horowitz; former CEO, Intel Corporation
"The Synergy Solution provides a complete how-to on M&A. If you only read one book, make it this one—from case studies to practical examples, readers can connect with the fundamentals and, at the same time, learn what to expect from a real-life merger or acquisition."
– Mark Little, President and CEO, Suncor Energy
"Finally, a definitive guide on M&A and the creation of shareholder value that makes sense. From M&A strategy and communicating with investors to the details of integration and change, The Synergy Solution delivers what it promises. A must-read for CFOs and senior executives involved in M&A."
– Frank D’Amelio, CFO & Executive Vice President, Global Supply, Pfizer