Tag: Acquisition Process

The Greatest Risk You Face in Acquisitions

When you acquire a company, the biggest risk you face in the unknown. You put a potentially large sum of money down for results that are not guaranteed. Whether you are acquiring a company for a new technological capability, to expand your geographic footprint, or for its complementary product line – there’s always the possibility …

Continue reading

The Best Advice for M&A Success

In my over 20 years of pursing strategic, not-for-sale acquisitions for clients, the most important piece of advice I have is: be prepared. It may sound simple, but I cannot stress enough how critical preparation is to M&A success. This applies to every stage of the Roadmap to Acquisitions, our M&A process, from initial strategy …

Continue reading

“Where To Start Your Search for M&A Targets” — New M&A Express Videocast

How do you go about finding companies to buy? Do you begin your search by contacting a list of usual suspects? Rather than falling back on the usual suspects, consider using a truly strategic approach to finding the right company to buy. A demand-driven approach to picking acquisition targets will help increase your chances of successful M&A. …

Continue reading

How Can You Manage Mergers and Acquisitions Risk?

Acquisitions are one of the fastest ways to grow, but they do come with their own set of risks. Industry numbers show that about 70% of acquisitions fail, so executives are highly motivated to mitigate their risks when purchasing a company. This can be done in a number of ways. Usually we think about hiring …

Continue reading

The Dangers of Getting Swept Away In the Excitement of a Deal

“The danger with a mergers-and-acquisitions boom is that chief executives could allow themselves to get carried away by the thrill of the hunt, reducing their focus on internal investment projects that might have a better chance of bearing fruit,” says the New York Time’s Dealbook column. M&A activity has reached record highs and shows no …

Continue reading

Sharing Successful Acquisitions with the Chief Executives Club

The Chief Executives Club of Rhode Island has invited me to speak at its breakfast meeting on November 7 in Providence, Rhode Island. The club, whose members are senior executives, annually hosts 10 of these meetings, where America’s top business thought leaders and authors share their views on a wide variety of leadership topics. I …

Continue reading

Key Insights from “M&A as Competitive Advantage”

By John Dearing, Managing Director McKinsey & Company recently published an article on using M&A as a tool to give your company a competitive advantage. The article addresses some key aspects of M&A we find important at Capstone. You should develop your strategy first when approaching M&A and always have a full pipeline of acquisition …

Continue reading

Quarterbacking the Acquisition Team

With football season starting, I am reminded of the indispensable role of the quarterback. In the same way that a quarterback can lead a football team to victory, your Acquisition Coordinator should lead the Acquisition Team to a successful acquisition. The Acquisition Coordinator’s job is to manage the process and drive it forward. This key …

Continue reading

In an Acquisition Process, the Buck Stops With You

As you go through the M&A process, you may find that advisors are both necessary and helpful to assist you. However, you must maintain your leadership role. I find that particularly toward the end of the acquisition process, executives imagine that they should hand the reins to a more “experienced” professional. This would be unwise. …

Continue reading

Uncovering Liabilities Early On

The message I want to share with you here is simple but critical: start your due diligence early. In fact, start it the moment you begin the acquisition process. Conducting due diligence uncovers liabilities or hidden problems that can decide the success or failure of an acquisition. This could include issues such as past litigation, …

Continue reading

Load more