2021 was a record year for M&A activity with over $5 trillion of transactions globally, cited by a variety of sources. Whilst 2022 may not see the record broken, there is still a large amount of activity planned and reported despite the geopolitical and economic headwinds.
Apart from mega-deals, the majority of merger, acquisition and divestiture transactions will happen in a very compressed timeline – within 100 days. The pressure is then on for all parties in the transaction to make it a success.
We are playing an increasingly more frequent role in supporting clients overcome their challenges, whichever side of the transaction they are on.
Key areas include:
- Time - often teams are working to compressed timelines and need support to meet the requirements
- Due diligence - getting accurate information with cost opportunities and risks identified
- Resource - they still have a business to run, how do they meet the additional requirements?
- Success - how do they make a success of the transaction for their business as many organisations do not realise the benefits expected.
How we can support you
Understanding true IT assets landscape and identifying any potential risks
Support building technology & process roadmaps with change management plans
IT vendor & contract consolidation or carve out support through to execution of new contracts within timescales
Day 1 support and ongoing optimisation across IT
Due diligence &
negotiation
Obtain clarity over the value of IT assets and future liabilities/costs being acquired. Assessments of IT infrastructure to deliver risk mitigation and efficiency plans.
Purchase & sales agreement
Clarity of commercial licence positions mitigate risks and support commercial IT agreements execution.
Plan for change management and continuous IT operations.
On-boarding
Supporting IT and procurement teams to deliver:
- Adoption and change plans
- Migration plans
- Entitlements to operate IT
- Contract cost reduction plans
Integration
Migration support to deduplicate and optimise IT infrastructure and spend.
Continuous IT improvement and change management to realise synergies.
Separation planning
& due diligence
Clarity of IT assets to segment and be transferred.
Assess and plan the IT assets remaining and identify risks and efficiency opportunities.
Purchase & sales agreement
Plan for change and support to separate infrastructure.
Renegotiate and resize 3rd party agreements.
Exit from transitional services agreement
Right size infrastructure and contracts for remainder of parent operations.
Ongoing operations
Continuous development and optimisation of IT.
Impact of
divestment
Support assessment of impact and risks of infrastructure separation on operations. Plan infrastructure requirements and operations capability.
Divestment &
day 1 operations
Ensure “rights to use” in place to run the business.
Migration of IT to new environment with change management plans.
Planning future
operations
Establish governance over IT assets and investments.
Support to plan IT architecture, operations and improve processes to deliver efficiencies.
Ongoing
improvement
Continuous optimisation of both IT technical and commercial structures to improve return on investment.
How we have helped businesses
5,000 employees | Key sites US, UK, IT
Challenge
Integrate IT infrastructure of two merged ecommerce business to deliver efficiency and cost savings.
Outcomes
- £1M + Infrastructure cost savings per year
- 5 year IT integration strategy defined
- Single unified post-merger IT team
Based in France
Challenge
Quickly divest part of their business following merger with another business.
Outcomes
- Managed financial risk levels throughout the project resulting in no cost increases
- 80+ vendor contracts and agreements managed and executed
- Reduction of delays through coordinated approach to complex relationships between company and vendors
9,000 employees | 25 countries
Challenge
Bring together 3 separate companies, each with their own unique technologies, user groups and language requirements.
Outcomes
- Cost benefits through creating ability to procure using master agreements
- Improved user experience through consistent technology approach and consolidated platforms
- Repeatable processes for technology “design & build”
13,000 employees | US HQ, Global presence
Challenge
Integrate 50 companies into 1 organisation with additional ongoing acquisition activities planned.
Outcomes
- Operational efficiencies delivered through standardised structure, policies and processes
- Reduced management overheads to focus on value-driven initiatives
- Ability to support ongoing acquisition activity through a manageable and sustainable IT environment
