Winning at the Acquisition Game Tools, Templates, and Best Practices Across the M&A Process

In an era of digital transformation, disruptive innovation, transient competitive advantage, and industry convergence, mergers and acquisitions have become more complex than ever.

Winning at the Acquisition Game presents the best materials, insights, tools, and templates which comprise the comprehensive, cross-disciplinary Mergers and Acquisitions course taught in the MBA and Executive MBA programs at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Each chapter connects traditionally distinct "siloed" functional expertise and provides readers with practical knowledge and tools to help them understand the entire M&A process; from pre-deal strategy and due diligence, through transaction valuation, negotiations, and consummation, to post-deal implementation, workforce motivation, innovation for revenue growth, and results measurement and reporting. Case examples illustrate how each stage of the process has been implemented by companies across various industries, while discussion questions and self-assessments enable readers to determine their organization's current level of M&A capability.

Through an actionable, end-to-end process model this book shows both practitioners and students of M&A how to successfully mobilize and integrate organizational capability and avoid management missteps to gain a unique advantage and truly "win" at the acquisition game.

Timothy Galpin, Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Innovation, Sa?d Business School, University of Oxford

Tim Galpin is a Senior Lecturer of Strategy and Innovation at Sa?d Business School, University of Oxford, and a consultant to boards and senior management. Throughout his career he has consulted to firms in numerous industries around the world, helping them to successfully plan and implement complex cross-functional efforts including mergers and acquisitions, strategy formulation and execution, business restructuring, and organizational culture change. He has authored four books and has written numerous articles for publications including Mergers & Acquisitions, Strategy & Leadership, Journal of Business Strategy, and Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship.

Section One: Pre-Deal
1. Formulate a Clear M&A strategy
2. Locate Targets That Fit Your M&A strategy
3. Investigate to Prevent Post-Close Surprises
Section Two: The Deal
4. Valuate to Determine a Realistic Price
5. Negotiate Clearly Defined Deal Terms
6. Consummate
Section Three: Post-Deal
7. Integrate
8. Motivate
9. Innovate
10. Evaluate
Appendix A: M&A Workbook
Appendix B: Key Findings of the Oxford M&A Insights Project