While attending a recent series of M&A conferences and meeting with various mergers and acquisitions professionals, I likened my presence to being an elephant in the room.
Whenever a deal is coming together the dream team at work includes professionals with legal backgrounds, financial experts, negotiation specialists, investment advisors and strategic planners; even wealth managers.
Each is focused on how their skills can help drive the decision, bringing buyer and seller together. So what about the communications strategy going forward? It’s the CEO’s problem. Post-transaction, let’s go golfing.
That’s what I mean about being that elephant in the room. Communications, while critically important, is too often ignored, unaddressed and overlooked until the deal is done.
Likewise, an industry report from Fenwick & West LLP expands on factors that CEOs, CFOs and other key executives believe contributed to their successful mergers or acquisitions. After analyzing some 70 of their insights I have uncovered 10 clear guidelines for the executive spokesperson speaking about a merger or acquisition:
Randomly included among their seventy powerful insights are 10 pearls of wisdom for any CEO speaking about a merger or acquisition:
1. Convey Greatness
Maximize valuation by conveying greatness in the company. Establishing why the acquisition will continue to build greatness in the company assures customers of greater business value in their relationship, employees of greater career value and shareholders of increased investment value.
2. Be Open
Knowing that cultural fit (including management style and work ethic) is important, it is still hard to determine it in advance for either the buyer or the seller. Companies with a history and a practice of a more open communication style can more effectively overcome cultural differences.
3. Downplay Emotions
Cut to the chase, quickly. Avoid broad public statements that are unrealistic, such as “there will be no layoffs.” Encourage decisiveness and set the right expectations.
4. Seek Certainty
Strive to make key personnel decisions in advance of the deal closing, so at the time of the announcement there is clear leadership. Pave the way for a successful cultural integration by clearly defining and communicating the roles of the new employees and how product lines fit. Avoid internal and external confusion.
5. Preempt Questions
Anticipate in advance the tough, high-level questions. Is there a vision match? Are there end-user benefits? Is there a good strategic fit? Will this deal help the buyer and seller? What are the channel synergies and integration plans? Plan for transparency in responding to important open issues.
6. Uphold Principles
Establish ground rules for going forward by communicating a set of guiding principles and clearly articulating their purpose. Be passionate about something.
7. Be Repetitious
Be instrumental in delivering and repeating the messages that are key to why this is a great deal. Help everyone see the logic of the deal in terms of importance. Have a theme and stick to it.
8. Settle and Soothe
Speed and clarity are both critical to M&A; success. The longer it takes to get the deal done, and the more ambiguous the communications during the negotiations, the more confusion is created. Keep everyone focused and help avoid rumors.
9. Share the Dream
Your message is all about getting the management and the employees of both the buyer and the seller excited and so enthused that when they go home their families feel it, too. It’s a celebration among employees that spills over to your customers. It’s a renewed purpose that employees, clients, channel partners, investors and business communities truly understand and share.
10. Be Accountable
When you speak, make it clear you are accountable for achieving the benefits of the deal and, in so doing, maintaining ownership of the vision.
It doesn’t have to be a last-minute magic act, transforming this elephant into a pearl.
Recognize in advance that having an M&A; communications specialist on the dream team will contribute to the success of the deal and serve to keep the dream alive.
