Entrance’s president, Nate Richards, participated in an a panel focusing on mergers and acquisitions this week with a group of professionals related to the topic, including a lawyer, CPA, valuation consultant and an attorney. Each of the panelists had a slightly different perspective on the topic, but the main driver of the panel was this: there are no mergers and acquisitions without data.
Steps of the M&A Process
The panel discussion covered the life cycle of an M&A purchase, from valuation to close. Here are a few points related to different points in the process:
1. Valuation
- There is a certain level of risk when valuing a transaction. The amount of effort it will take to merge their data with yours and the quality of the employees you will be acquiring can make a big difference in determining that value.
- As the selling company, are you supplying enough data for an accurate valuation? Too much?
2. Planning
- What systems do the incoming company use to track data? Does it match yours?
- How long will it take to migrate that data, and what can you do in advance to mitigate the hit to efficiency that the merger will entail?
- If you are the selling company, how will you adjust to losing a portion of your data systems and employees?
3. Implementation
- What security gaps do you need to close as you merge?
- Who needs to be re-trained on improvements or changes to current systems?
- On either the selling or buying end, are you capturing the mind share that allows the business to keep running effectively?
Overall, proper planning for all of these points can help companies preparing for M&A avoid possible stumbling blocks and ensure that operations are ongoing as much as it is possible to do so. From start to finish, proper data management can help maximize the worth of the investment from both ends.
Read more about how we helped one client accomplish this during a merger!