Background and Challenge
L.E.K. was engaged after our client, a global $10 billion scientific tools company, announced the acquisition of a competitor firm in an approximately $2 billion transaction.
The client had prior acquisition integration experience but none of the size and scale of the current acquisition, which had thousands of employees operating globally.
Approach and Recommendations
- Supported the development of detailed merger integration plans for the pre-close and approximately 50-day post-close period, with a global integration team covering North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific
- Established an integration management office, including developing a tracking system to monitor milestones/risks/interdependencies for synergy capture and integration activities
- Provided dedicated support to several functional groups (including sales, service, marketing, product lines, operations, sourcing, HR, IT, finance, legal, real estate, audit, tax, treasury, intellectual property and risk management), and helped develop and implement integration plans and conducted integration-related analysis across groups
- Positioned the commercial teams to capitalize on the combined product portfolio and sales channels — the key focus of the integration, as the deal was positioned to primarily capture revenue synergies
- Identified particular risks such as the integration of sales forces and the reorganization of the marketing group to support the combined company
Results
The integration proceeded efficiently and achieved our client’s goals, including synergy targets, so that the combined product portfolio could be sold from Day 1, with we providing critical support to the commercial organization:
- Reallocated resources to provide greater support to the sales and marketing organizations, as these groups were forced to manage a heavy workload immediately pre- and post-close
- Worked with the sales leads to develop and execute plans to build an integrated sales force, including a lead exchange program, sales rep training and channel partner utilization
- Worked with the marketing leads to develop an interim and end-state vision for the marketing organization to best support the combined company
- Prepared our client for a successful Day 1 transition, including well-received town hall meetings and employee communications that helped establish a sense of unity across the combined company
- Worked with our client on talent retention efforts, resulting in no significant unplanned departures through integration
- Helped our client build a foundation of integration management to support ongoing integration work
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