Iluma

Mergers and acquisitions are critical for sustainable and profitable growth and aid in refocusing corporate portfolios on their core business and high growth activities. M&A continues to gain importance in a world of global, deregulated and highly competitive markets.  Unfortunately few companies reach their stated growth and value generation targets in M&A deals. And worse, more than half of all deals end up destroying value and lowering profitability in the long term.  

A merger or acquisition – especially within a complex cross-border deals – poses business leaders with complex challenges.  In the pre-merger phase, successfully planning and initiating an M&A deal requires a sound strategy and a deep understanding of operational, financial, legal, tax, cultural and cross-boarder issues. These are necessary to truly understand the fit and the value of prospective targets. Comprehensive valuation and negotiation skills are required to close a favorable deal.

However, once the deal is closed, the challenges expand. During the post-merger integration phase, buyers are forced to immediately realize the announced value while integrating different functions, processes, systems, people and cultures. The buyer is expected to do all of this while maintaining business momentum and  operating within regulatory constraints all the while ensuring none of these actions negatively effect the day-to-day business.

ILUMA provides expert support throughout the M&A lifecycle

In the pre-merger phase we work with customers to formulate a clear M&A strategy and facilitate the selection of appropriate acquisition targets, perform due diligence and synergy analysis. Pre-merger services:

• Program and project management
• M&A strategyTarget Screening and Identification
• Strategic synergy quantification
• Financial and technical Due diligence 
• Business Model Review

During the post-merger integration, we support our clients in a smooth integration and help to define a clear road map for the new company .  We create an integration master plan, and a new business and operating model are defined and put into place. Continuous meaningful communication between all stake holders helps to build new corporate cultural and ensure employee support of the merger.  We specialize in complex cross-border mergers, where our program management is key in coordinating and monitoring the integration progress throughout multiple countries, business units and functions. Post-merger services:

• Program and project management
• Organizational design
• Change management
• Functional synergy identification
• Sales and marketing support
• IT integration strategy
• Cultural Integration and Leadership development