M&A: The Real Battle Begins After Closing

M&A isn’t just about identifying the right targets or negotiating impressive financial terms—it’s what happens after Day One that truly defines success. In fact, roughly 70–85% of deals fail to deliver anticipated value, with many underperforming due to poor integration planning, cultural clashes, or underestimated complexity

To avoid becoming a statistic, your focus must shift to what comes next:

• Holistic culture building: Nearly 30% of failed mergers cite cultural integration issues as a root cause.

• Talent assessment: Identify and retain key leaders while evaluating role fit in the merged entity.

• Systems integration: Align IT, finance, back-office platforms—technical cohesion is mission-critical.

• Processes and policies: Decide what to keep, adapt, or sunset—clear, unified workflows matter.

• Communication: Internally, you must broadcast the vision, the roadmap, and new ways of working. Externally, confidence must be sustained—for customers and investors alike.

• Governance and value tracking: Maintain a dedicated integration team; Companies have captured up to 9% more value by doing so

• Investment in integration: In recent years, 59% of companies spent ≥ 6% of deal value on integration, and successful acquirers are twice as likely to do so

The hard work post close can’t be an afterthought. It’s the bedrock of value realization. Meticulous planning, culture, and communication turn deals into lasting success.