Case Study – GSK’s Acquisition of Sirtris: Independence or Integration?

Questions to be answered:
1. Slaoui and Andrew Witty, GSK’s CEO must sell the acquisition of Sirtris to two key constituencies: the GSK board of directors, as well as to Westphal and the senior team at Sirtris. How would you make these pitches?
2. If you are Westphal, how do you feel when you get the call from Slaoui? What terms are you most inclined to negotiate?
3. The vast majority of startups “exits” during the past decade have been through acquisitions by larger companies. What is likely to change at Sirtris after the acquisition? More generally, how do entrepreneurial companies change after they are acquired? Is there a role for an entrepreneur like Westphal in a very large company like GSK?
4. Put yourself in Slaoui’s position. How should you manage the integration of Sirtris? Then think about the same questions from the perspective of Westphal?

1.
GSK and Sirtris have been negotiating a potential acquisition for several years, so when the actual decision was made, Slaoui and Witty had to pitch the news to their own people at GSK as well as to Sirtris’ senior team and CEO Mr. Westphal. The process of bringing the news to the respective constituencies should include a couple of universally applicable standards and/or rules that managers should bring to the table when announcing an acquisition that is believed to have a major impact on the operations and culture of both companies.
Assuming that I had to bring the news to either of the two parties, I would make sure to have done my homework first. The probably first issue that has to be addressed would be the price of the acquisition. Before the merger, Sirtris’ stock was trading at USD 12 per share, GSK however offered the company USD 22.50 per share for the acquisition. Since this is almost double the amount that