Why is it that if the majority of acquisitions destroy value, the most successful companies in their industries are often the most acquisitive?

Our research suggests that acquisition-led strategies can be value-creating in any industry, and are essential in some. Why the apparent paradox?

In our experience, the best acquirers design acquisitive growth programs that are explicitly driven by their growth strategy, in which they continuously screen chosen markets for opportunities that will deliver their strategies at a faster and more valuable rate than organic growth alone. Consequently, they have the discipline to walk away from deals they cannot comfortably create value from. But, they also have the skills to maximize the value of the deals they do make. In practice, this means they are able to conserve the value of both base businesses, capture the value of the synergies behind the acquisition case and create new value through coherent strategic and organizational integration that ensures a "merger of minds" on the top management team.

We help companies build successful acquisitive growth programs as well as deliver value from individual deals. Our approach focuses on the highest-value strategic, financial and organizational decisions that define the program, the deal and the integration. The benefits of our approach include:

  • Acquisitive growth programs that are linked to corporate and business unit strategies
  • A richer pipeline and higher throughput of value-creating acquisitions
  • Lower risk of overpaying for the wrong companies
  • Accelerated delivery of value creation from individual acquisitions
  • Strategic and organizational integration programs that gear the new entity to sustainable growth
  • Deeper organizational capabilities to become a successful serial acquirer