Merger Integration:
Delivering on the
Promise

A Series of Viewpoints on Mergers, Acquisitions, and Integration

Executive Summary
From airlines to automobiles to advertising, the urge to merge has escalated steadily over the past decade. In 2000 alone there were 9,472 merger and acquisition transactions in the United
States — a new record. Although this rush to the altar may have been grounded in solid synergistic potential, all too many of these marriages quickly faltered. Booz •Allen & Hamilton recently conducted a study of deals that closed in 1997 and 1998 and discovered that 53 percent of the deals had failed to deliver their expected results.
Although senior executives devote exhaustive hours to striking the right deal, it is merely the beginning of the long and tortuous merger integration process. In fact, structuring a deal is relatively easy; implementing one is nothing short of heroic. As an executive presiding over a newly merged company, you are inundated with competing priorities and demands. But the most important questions before you are these:
• How do you deliver on the value you promised shareholders and investors while simultaneously “keeping the wheels on the business”?
• In the wake of a merger, how do you successfully integrate operations while maintaining your focus on customers?
Although no one-size-fits-all formula can apply to every company’s unique situation, in our experience four principles are the key to success in merger integration. They all start with the
CEO — before the deal closes.
• Communicate a shared vision for value creation.
• Seize defining moments to make explicit choices and trade-offs.
• Simultaneously execute against competing critical imperatives.
• Employ a rigorous integration planning process.
These four key principles will dictate a series of transformational priorities that will, in