Mergers and Acquisitions

Best Practices in Strategic M&A

The Mergers and Acquisitions program approaches M&A from a strategic, financial and change leadership perspective. The program focuses on M&A as a tactic to implement company strategy and deepens participants’ understanding of different phases of the M&A process, from M&A strategy and the deal-phase process to post-merger integration and leading change.

The objective of this program is to add significantly to your ability to perform and contribute when participating in an M&A process. It provides you with advanced skills and tools for using M&A to accomplish your strategic goals.

You will learn both up-to-date information on corporate practice relating to mergers and acquisitions, and the most significant academic research on the topic.

Benefits

During this program you will ensure your organization is prepared for an M&A process. You are able to identify and develop tools for different phases of the M&A process for your company. You will enhance post-merger integration and ensure continuance in business and customer relationships.

• Enhance your understanding of M&A process models and best practices
• Gain understanding of the M&A due diligence process and develop your due diligence skills
• Acquire a toolkit and models for testing, validating and valuating a deal
• Deepen your understanding of the post-merger integration process at an organizational and individual level
• Identify and develop tools for different phases of the M&A process for your company
• Enhance post-merger integration and ensure continuance in business and customer relationships
• Ensure your organization is prepared for an M&A process

Contents and Schedule

The program will be taught through a mix of lectures, exercises and case discussions.

Industry guest speakers will invited to the program to share their experiences and learnings on M&A process and integration.

M&A Strategy and Comparables-Based Valuation

Schedule

September 17, 2018

Location

Aalto EE premises in Helsinki

Analyzing the risks and opportunities of mergers and acquisitions. We will discuss various strategic logics of successful acquisitions and how these are translated into concrete revenue and cost synergies. Multiples-based valuation methods are applied to provide a framework for quantitative analysis of a transaction.

• Key concepts in M&A
• Strategic questions in M&A
• Comparables based valuation

Instructor: Sami Torstila, Professor, Aalto University School of Business

Discounted Cash Flow Valuation and Negotiations

Schedule

September 18, 2018

Location

Aalto EE premises in Helsinki

We will deepen our analysis of shareholder value added in acquisitions by applying discounted cash flow based valuation method to acquisition business plans. We continue with discussion of acquisition deal-making, including negotiations, deal structuring, and legal considerations.

• Discounted cash flow based valuation
• M&A negotiations
• M&A process types, due diligence
• Legal and accounting issues in M&A, goodwill

Post-merger integration

Schedule

September 19, 2018

Location

Aalto EE premises in Helsinki

Post-merger integration is one of the keys to success or failure in M&As, but it involves daunting managerial challenges ranging from value creation to human resource issues, cultural dynamic and identity-building. The third day of this module is designed to help to make sense of these challenges and to develop an understanding of integration plans as means to manage integration work.

• Integration approaches and strategies
• Value creation in integration
• Human resource issues
• Communication in M&A

Capturing Value through Integration Capability, incl. Business War Game Simulation

Schedule

November 1, 2018

Location

Aalto EE premises in Helsinki

This module will deepen your understanding on M&A integration, and give you tools and frameworks for leading the post-merger phase.

• Bringing organizational cultures together
• Having the management system right
• Business War Game simulation - understanding competitive dynamics in M&A situation

In the afternoon we will apply Business War Game simulation in M&A context. War Game method can be used as a tool to test strategies, forecast competitive actions, and gain an improved understanding of the range of strategic alternatives and possible outcomes in M&A situation

Reaching Strategic Agility

Schedule

November 2, 2018

Location

Aalto EE premises in Helsinki

• Cultivating changeability through structures, processes and culture
• Enhancing resource fluidity
• Redesigning the company boundaries and utilizing virtual structures