and how architects can help…
M&A teams have a hunting instinct, seeking out their targets, executing the deal and a short pause before moving on to new pastures.
McKinsey’s report Where mergers go wrong highlighted that “Most buyers routinely overvalue the synergies to be had from acquisitions. They should learn from experience.”
McKinsey’s recommendation was an injection of realism. Whilst its reasonable to build contingencies into the financial models, why can’t we do better deals, better planning and better integration? Why not apply business design expertise to M&A activities where architects form part of M&A teams rather than being used post deal.
From the outset an architect can assist in understanding the target operations and assess alignment across business, information and technology perspectives. This paves the way for successful integration and also helps the M&A team better understand the costs and benefits that should arise from the deal. This architect input alongside the financial analysis and due diligence provides a more complete evidence base for the business case.
Image by Andreas Göllner from Pixabay