The acquisition of a company or a merger is one of the most complex situations a company may face. Signing the deal is just the start of a long process towards a successful transition. Timelines of an integration are usually tight and companies do not have the knowledge or the resources to consider and handle all integration aspects.

Challenges
Based on our experience the major challenges with integrations are:

• Post-merger integration (PMI) details are not sufficiently considered and prepared during the pre-deal and deal phases.
• Factors such as communication, cultural integration and change management are not given the importance they require.
• Aspects such as organizational design, processes, products and IT architecture are not aligned.
• After the deal phase, management attention for post-merger integration activities is reduced.
• Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) experts leave the project after the deal is signed without proper handover to the PMI managers.
• Expert know-how is scarce. PMI projects are not managed professionally. Line managers are left alone with the task of integrating the organization, process, and product. And IT architecture landscape without the proper guidance.

Expertise
With our expertise gained in various integration projects in the financial services industry across the globe Synpulse ensures that in each phase of the transition the required steps will be considered and approached the right way. The developed approach focuses the management attention in each transition on the most important integration areas. This will lead to an efficient and successful integration process.

The Synpulse M&A Integration framework drives a structured approach to identify the integration domains the buyer and seller need to focus on during the transition. The close collaboration with the client ensures an efficient prioritization and a proper allocation of resources in the integration process.