A conversation with Al Ansari on "Unraveling the Mystery of M&A Integration and Divestiture Success"

A conversation with Al Ansari on "Unraveling the Mystery of M&A Integration and Divestiture Success"
By William Jefferson Black

Al Ansari is an M&A veteran, having worked on more than 80 acquisitions and divestitures worth an estimated $25 billion. Al has spent time on the deal team at Cisco, Gilead Science, Rambus, VMware, eBay, SanDisk, VeriSign, and Xilinx.

From his home in Silicon Valley, we connected with Al to learn more about his book Unraveling the Mystery of M&A Integration and Divestiture Success and some of the M&A approaches and methodologies...

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Methods for integrating marketing and brand in M&A

Methods for integrating marketing and brand in M&A
By Mr. Alex Liu & Mr. Nikolaus Raberger & Mr. Andy Rinaldi & Dr. Christian Sawaryn

Thinking of the key factors for acquisition success, most experienced M&A professionals would discuss the importance of sales, operations, human resources and finance. However, one corporate function often forgotten from the integration equation is marketing, which drives the organization’s value proposition to its customers and details the company's brand image and story. 

The authors of this paper, from McKinsey & Co., suggest....

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Managing spinoff transactions with a sophisticated tax overlay

Managing spinoff transactions with a sophisticated tax overlay
By Cathy Birkeland & Mark D. Gerstein & Ryan Maierson & Laurence J. Stein & Pardis Zomorodi & Alexa Berlin

To ensure the successful execution of a transaction for both SpinCo and RemainCo, both companies need to position the carveout to successfully operate as a stand-alone company.   

The authors of this paper look at the complex duties of care and loyalty that are unique to carveouts and consider the methods deal team should employ to structure this type of transaction, satisfy disclosure requirements, and ensure tax-free value creation through...

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Using culture to improve M&A performance

Using culture to improve M&A performance
By Mr. Jeff Black & Ms. Elizabeth Martin & Mr. Jim Terpstra & Ms. Gina Sandon & Ms. Ana Dutra

This keynote session reviewed strategies for retaining an acquisition target's key team members, including the structure of financial incentives and retention agreements for key executives that align with critical cultural and performance objectives. 

Liz Martin, Senior M&A HR Manager at Microsoft; Gina Sandon, Director, Global Merger & Acquisition Synergy at IBM; Jim Terpstra, Senior Director, Corporate Development at Groupon; and Ana Dutra, Board Director at CME Group, Eletrobras, & Elkay Industries shared their experience managing human capital risks and considered methods for repeatable post-merger performance improvement through... 

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Linking integration and financial metrics around synergy targets

Linking integration and financial metrics around synergy targets
By Mr. David W. Smalstig & Ms. Dawn White & Eileen Kamerick & Mr. Ken Kotylo

Frameworks for developing realistic synergy targets were debated during this session as the participants drilled into the interplay between term sheets and post-close operating dynamics, considered occasions for limited post-merger integration, contemplated variations in deals where there is a minority or venture investment, and considered approaches that may make a future divestiture feasible. 

Dawn White, Manager, M&A Integration - Corporate Development at Corning; Eileen Kamerick, Member, Board of Directors at AIG Funds, Associated Banc-Corp, Legg-Mason Closed-End Mutual Funds and Hochschild Mining; and Ken Kotylo, Vice President of Acquisitions & Corporate Development at Telephone and Data Systems (TDS) drilled into the interplay between term sheets and....

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