There are many sound business reasons to acquire another company or an additional product. The problem is "which" acquisition is the best, what are the risks, the costs, the problems, the rewards and how do you assess all of those issues while still managing your company?

We work in parallel with your attorney who is working on the host of legal issues, your accountant who is focusing on the value of the acquisition. Our Group focuses on the integration costs, risks, and benefits. Most acquisitions do not achieve the intended results. Frequently buyers and sellers fail to understand the integration costs. Integration costs cover a multitude of factors including; personnel, company culture, equipment, software, marketing strategies, production costs, cross-training costs, and an extensive communication effort by management.

Imagine that you've acquired a small entrepreneurial company that has a "hot" product that can be bundled with your product to increase sales and enter new markets. To integrate the "hot" new product will require modifications to your product and changes in how it's produced, priced, and marketed. However one problem that often creates a point of failure or delay is the absorption of the entrepreneurial personnel into your more controlled environment.

During the acquisition meetings Small Company's founders and team are very excited about the prospect of being part of Big Company. Small Company's entrepreneurial people have been starved for resources to complete their product, and now they can envision getting the necessary resources and launching their product as part of Big Company's product line.

If the integration strategy is not well thought out, planned, and communicated to all parties, the entrepreneurial team will suffer a major letdown. The entrepreneurial team will feel constrained by planning meetings, approval processes, and management reviews. The constraints felt by the entrepreneurs is natural, the meetings, approvals and management reviews are critical to the success of larger companies due to the number of interrelationships that must be factored into the introduction of a new product. If both the acquired and the acquirer are not communicating before, during, and especially after the acquisition the acquisition will probably not be successful in achieving its stated goals.

Large companies create internal acquisition teams to plan the integration and how to best to incorporate the "hot" new product into the company's product. Emerging companies or early stage fast growth companies seldom have the luxury of being able to create an acquisition team - that's where we can help.

On a project basis we will assist you in identifying the best possible acquisition or merger candidates and analyze and rank them for your review. Here is how we add significant value:

• Confidentiality: Often both the buyer and seller want to remain anonymous as long as they can for several excellent business reasons.
  
  
• Business Focus: Buyer and seller's management needs to stay focused on the day-to-day operational issues.
  
  
• Experience: Often smaller companies management teams lack the experience necessary to correctly evaluate other companies.
  
  
• Objectivity: Our analysis is based on established criteria. Cold facts not colored by enthusiasm (the rose colored glasses).
  
  
• Financing: We suggest various financial instruments that may be employed to complete the purchase or merger.
  
  

For more detailed information, please refer to our newsletter HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS in NEWSLETTERS.