Completing a merger with one of their competitors sounded perfect…
But after some initial progress, negotiations slowed right down.
And that’s when we got involved with this ecommerce company, which we’re now advising.
The founder of the business wants to retire from day-to-day operations and fully exit in the next 12 months.
The founder of the other company wants to lead the merged entity.
So far, so good.
And there’s a bunch of obvious benefits. One company has a really strong HR team, while the other boasts an effective sales and marketing machine.
The problem for both companies is that many parts of the business don’t mesh quite so well and will likely result in a few roles being lost.
That’s not uncommon, yet many business owners rush headlong into mergers, only to find themselves in a right pickle several months down the line.
Simply because they failed to grasp what was most important to the shareholders of the other company – and in this case, the objective was to avoid even a single job loss.
Negotiations are now back on track, with a solution to redeploy staff to new roles – but it’s a reminder to always check your assumptions upfront about what the other side actually wants – and what’s most important to them.
#exitstrategy #exitlaunchpad #M&A #nextlevelgrowth