We recently had a situation where our client, the buyer, was pursuing the acquisition of one of their suppliers. The buyer expected the process to be relatively easy because he and the seller had known each other for years. However, when he tried to speak to the owner about possibly selling his company, he was …
Category: Strategy and Company Growth
Middle Market Companies Holding Onto Cash
Instead of investing in growth, companies this year have been holding more than $1.4 trillion in cash – close to a record $1.65 trillion in 2014. Oracle’s $56 billion cash stockpile is 1.5 times its sales and Cisco’s $60 billion in cash is 1.2 times its sales. Eleven companies have cash reserves double their annual …
Keys to Successful Minority Investment
On yesterday’s M&A Express videocast, The Hidden Power of Minority Ownership, I mentioned Marcus Lemonis, a businessman who turns around struggling businesses in the CNBC show, the Profit. I’ve written about Lemonis before on the blog, and how he really prefers to use minority ownership so that the founders or original owners of the business continue to …
How to Explore Adjacencies
Ikea has purchased a forest in order to have better control over their supply chain. Simply put, this move is backward integration – moving “back” or further up the supply chain, closer to raw materials and farther from end customers. It’s an interesting strategy from both the supply chain and cost perspective and also from …
Employees vs. Contractors ─ A Due Diligence Challenge
It seems as though the employee vs. contractor issue is popping up all over the news. Virtual assistant startup company Zirtual just fired over 400 employees by email because the company couldn’t sustain its payroll once it converted contractors to employees. The Wall Street Journal has also highlighted the many startups that are now grappling …
Best Practices for Seeking Growth Outside the Core
Most companies are seeking growth outside of their core business through organic means or mergers and acquisitions, according to a new survey by McKinsey. What’s interesting is that although many companies want to expand beyond their mainstay business, most do not have the capabilities to do so. Here are three best practice steps noted for successfully …
Is Everyone on the Same Page? Gaining Clarity on Your Company’s Vision for Growth
“We have a strong vision and a clear plan for growing the company in the future,” Sarah, the CEO, told me with complete confidence during a recent strategy session. Her CFO disagreed: “We have no vision.” Various members of her executive team shared similar sentiments privately with my team and me. Many expressed anxiety; they …
’Tis the Season for Strategic Planning (Or Should Be)
Are you unusually busy? If you’re like most people the answer is yes! With the holiday season upon us, we are most of us inundated with commitments to work, family and friends. While it might be easy to get caught up in the bustle of the season, I recommend pausing to plan your growth path …
What Drives Successful Growth through M&A? One Word: Leadership
Research indicates that up to 70% of mergers and acquisitions fail to meet stated objectives, and of those 50% will destroy shareholder value. Those are daunting statistics. Yet acquisitions remain a top means for growth in companies in the U.S. and around the world. So a key question for any organization looking at M&A as …
Getting from A to B – Harness Your Ideas to Grow Your Company
Entrepreneurs rarely face the challenge of having too few ideas. In fact, like most entrepreneurs and business leaders you probably have a multitude of great ideas for growing your own business. Your biggest challenge may be figuring out which of all the alternatives is the best way to get from where you are now to …
