One of the biggest misperceptions about post-merger integration is that it can simply be tacked on to existing day-to-day responsibilities. That’s wishful thinking—and a recipe for unrealized value. BCG’s framework for a successful PMI has helped clients capture 9% more value from their M&A deals.
More often than not, M&A deals destroy value; more than half of mergers and acquisitions fail or underperform. While the transactions still go through, they never unlock their full potential. That’s because the challenge of PMI—bringing together two organizations, each with its own processes, structure, culture, and management—is profoundly complex.
To succeed, a PMI must achieve four fundamentally different objectives:
In short, PMI is one of the most challenging initiatives that a senior executive will ever undertake.
In the past five years, we’ve helped major multinational companies complete more than 550 mergers and acquisitions. These M&A deals generated 9% more value for our clients, on average, than the average deal, in large part because of our PMI consulting services.
We help our clients succeed by combining deep industry and business strategy knowledge with comprehensive value delivery capabilities and expertise, thus accelerating and maximizing value creation throughout the deal and the PMI process.
Because no two PMIs are alike, it's hard to develop a formula. But BCG has articulated 12 imperatives for success in a three-phase approach: setting the direction, capturing the value, and building the organization. In the first phase, defining your basic objectives is essential. In the second phase, speed is crucial. And in the final phase, continuous communication ties everything together.
Beyond these imperatives, we support clients by leveraging our proprietary toolkit to help with the hundreds of decisions they face during an integration. We employ these tools to manage the complexity and ensure that every integration captures its intended value:
Finally, BCG doesn’t just help integrate a deal—we also set up our clients for success on their own by providing them with deep knowledge about the PMI process. Our integration academy, a multiday workshop led by our PMI experts, is a hands-on master class that builds on a rich repository of examples and is tailored to address the challenges and objectives of each integration.
PMIs are often treated as a one-size-fits-all process, yet each has its own speed, style, focus, and rhythm. The PMI strategy and process must be tailored to account for those differences. Here are a few examples of BCG’s post-merger integration consulting work with clients on their post-merger integrations:
A massive deal gave rise to an exceptionally complex PMI. BCG structured and managed the program, created full transparency of costs, developed a synergy baseline, and acted as a data broker between the two companies. The discipline paid off. The merger of giants was completed on time and on budget.
The merger of two large regional banks aimed to create the scale and efficiency to invest in critical capabilities. The design of the new organization was a particularly complex and sensitive challenge. BCG developed objectives and principles to guide the design and then helped define the new operating model. By deal close, the combined organization had strong leadership and was positioned to achieve synergies and build new capabilities.
Companies can maximize the value of large-scale mergers by proactively implementing a transparent, disciplined talent-selection process.
The pandemic is pumping the brakes on M&A, but activity will rebound and likely accelerate. Banks should be bold and ready.
With a disciplined approach, merging companies can aim higher, achieve more, and realize post-merger synergies faster—and thus fulfill the true promise of integration.
