If you’re thinking about merging with or acquiring another business you’ll want to know all about stakeholders and the roles they’ll play in that.
There are five key M&A stakeholders and these can impact the acquisitions process and the value of the deal.
It is really important that you have the right people in place, and you should include five key stakeholder roles in any merger or acquisition, especially if you’re a small or mid-sized business. More than half of all deals fall through, but you’ll have the absolute best chance of making a success of them if you follow the experts, and trust us when we tell you that the companies who do deals best are very careful about their stakeholder responsibilities.
But what are the five key stakeholder roles and what do they entail? In this article, we’ll help you identify them.
The five key stakeholder roles
As we have mentioned, there are five key stakeholder roles. They are as follows:
- C-suite and investment committee
- Business unit leadership
- Corporate development
- Transaction lead
- External advisors.
Each party should have varying levels of involvement and effort throughout the merger and acquisition process in order to help the deal go through. But what are those roles and responsibilities?
C-suite and investment committee
The CEO and a team of carefully selected individuals will make up the C-suite, and they will have the final say regarding any deals. That might sound fun, but it also means that the C-suite is responsible if a deal fails.
The C-suite is responsible for making sure that the right people are in other teams. They’ll monitor the work of these groups and make sure that they maintain their focus and discipline to get the deal done. They’re main job is to find the right people and keep the process on track, otherwise things can get messy.
The C-suite, which is also sometimes called the IC, will create the vision for the transaction and will be responsible for delivering this vision by pushing the process forward and monitoring it closely as they do.
Business unit leadership
Once the transaction is complete, the business unit takes over by operating the acquired business. This does not mean that they should not be brought on until later in the process; it is very important that they are involved in the process from the beginning so that they can prepare.
You might have to draw on the experience of employees to form your BU and this might be difficult in terms of capacity, but do not underestimate the importance of having them properly formed as a team. They’ll bring operational knowledge to support due diligence and integration processes. They’ll alert you to potential issues and, by the time you acquire it, they will know exactly how the new business should operate.
Corporate development team
The corporate development team will be directly involved in an M&A from the very beginning to the very end. Some organisations have a team like this in place all the time, but if you are a small or medium sized business, it is likely you create this team and then retire it once your deals are complete.
The corporate development team will identify targets and deal with the negotiations of the deal.
They’ll need to know everything there is to know about your business and its targets, as well as the new company, and the industry overall.
Transaction lead
The transaction lead comes in at the very end of the process to drive the deal and execute the integration of the two companies.
This is another branch of your M&A you should engage in the process as early as possible so that they can understand risks and challenges.
You should look for someone who has experience in transactions, or who you are sure, because of their demonstrable experience and skills.
This team, or individual, will work closely with the corporate development team and investment committee.
External advisors
External advisors are separate to the company and therefore not subject to bias in the way internal staff members might be. They’ll provide access to targets and advise on internal capabilities as needed. They’ll also help you source potential companies to buy from the very beginning to make sure you’re looking in the right places.
You might not think you have the funds for this and can bypass it, but do not underestimate how much you’ll be out of pocket if you try to proceed with a risky investment without the input of an external advisor.
Yorkshire Change can help
Merging with or acquiring another company is a big and complicated process, with lots of moving parts. You will benefit greatly from bringing on a change manager, who can help you to
Identify where you need key stakeholders and support you through the entire process.
For more information or to speak to one of our consultants, please fill in the contact form on the homepage of our website.