• My sector
• Points of Pain
• Self Diagnostics
• FREE Insights
• Products & Services
• About Virtual Group
• Our People

MergerPlus

The Objective

Today, more than ever before, New Zealand is going through a period of strategic mergers. These include the Auckland City Council (Super-City), Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MOBIE) and Ministry of Primary Industries.

Like a marriage, any merger has the potential to add enormous value or to destroy enormous value.

The decision to merge is usually a strategic one; however, making it work is a human challenge. The key is to go into the relationship with a deep understanding about who each party is and the right expectations, how each party will behave and what each party will bring.

MergerPlus is a tool to increase these understandings, and improve the risk of success.

The Issue

Many mergers fall flat on their faces. In the worst cases companies go bankrupt, executives are fired, or the merged organisation goes through corporate divorce. Mergers are inherently risky, and without the proper strategy, understanding and knowledge, mergers can become ugly.

Research shows that over half of takeovers or mergers destroy shareholder value, and a further third make no discernible difference. In other words, you have a one in six chance of increasing shareholder value.

MergerPlus is a tool to improve these odds and measure compatibility and understandings between the organisations.

Uses

MergerPlus is a tool, not just for Super-Cities and Super-Ministries, it helps wherever you have to get the relationships between organisations right. Examples may include:

1. When two organisations are merging
2. When considering whether or not to takeover another organisation
3. When doing due diligence on an organisation
4. When choosing a critical customer
5. When choosing a critical supplier
6. When government departments are merging their ‘back offices’
7. When agencies need to work together closely to achieve the needs of a Sector
8. When two internal business units need to improve the way they work together.

Target Market

MergerPlus has three major target customer groups:

1. Boards of Directors who want to reduce the risk of failed mergers before they occur
2. Senior Managers who are charged with implementing a successful merger
3. Corporate Advisers who are advising organisations on potential mergers.

Benefits

MergerPlus has the following benefits:

1. Minimises the risks of failed mergers
2. Improves the conversation and decision-making before mergers take place
3. Maximises the synergies between organisations
4. Reduces the “ego effect” from merge decisions
5. Clarifies the issues for and against merging before the leap is made.

Process

The MergerPlus Process usually includes:

1. Three or four people in each organisation complete the MergerPlus Questionnaire on-line.
2. The results of the Questionnaires for each organisation are computed into a MergerPlus Profile for that organisation
3. The MergerPlus Profiles of each organisation are compared
4. Virtual Group produces a Report showing the characteristics of each organisation, including similarities, differences, what each organisation can expect from the other and potential merger issues.
5. Recommended actions for a successful merger.

Example

Below are the Profiles of two organisations whose merger had the major potential to go wrong because they were so different from each other. It's not that either one was wrong; it's just that they were different. With MergerPlus, these difference were discussed and managed. The merged organisation was able to use the creativity of a "Yellow" organisation (left Profile) and the practical process orientation of the "green" organisation (right Profile).

Product support

This product has been developed and is supported by Bruce Holland and Allan Frazer with help where required from other members of the Virtual Group Business Consultants.

Guarantee

All work undertaken by Virtual Group is guaranteed. If at the end of the program the client doesn't feel that they have received value for money, they may adjust the bill and pay an amount equal to the value they feel they received.

For more information

For more information contact Bruce Holland Phone +6421620456 or Skype Bruce.Holland.

Key words: strategy, strategies, business strategy, business strategies, strategy management, strategic management, strategy development, implementation.