Tips for Sellers in Post-close Acquisition Integration

Acquisition integration is the key to success or failure of mergers & acquisitions.

Acquisition integration is the key to success or failure of mergers & acquisitions. As the seller, if you have a stake in a deal post-acquisition, get involved as soon as possible. Buyers have a great deal at stake, and they are interested in speed – getting acquisition integration completed so they can begin to enjoy the expected benefits of the transaction.

However, speed is imperative for the seller as well. Think about it – you won’t collect your check until the deal closes. But there is more at stake than just the initial payment. You may have agreed to an earn-out or other ongoing compensation, and you likely won’t hit the targets if acquisition integration fails. Moreover, the future roles of you and your employees can be dramatically impacted by the acquisition integration plan.

So what should you strive for? Be involved from day one. Help to put together the acquisition integration team – in fact, you should have a team that mirrors the buyer’s integration team. Insist on this level of involvement – and if the buyer balks, maybe you’d better think long and hard about why they don’t want you playing a role in the process.

During this time, you should also look out for those individuals with a stake in your transaction: your employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders. If they are important to the new company’s future, you must understand the buyer’s plans and be able to communicate them to these stakeholders. Throughout the integration, watch how the buyer handles the human aspects of acquisition integration, including communication and compensation.