A business merger can be an exciting time full of promises of growth and continued success. It can also, however, be a great source of anxiety for those on either side of the table. Fortunately, there are certain steps that everyone involved in the business merger can take to help ensure that it is a successful business move for all involved. With care and proper planning, a merger can help business dreams come true with minimal disruptions to overall business dealings.
The Keys to a Successful Business Merger
Step one to a successful business merger is to understand the people you are partnering with. When merging your business with another, it is critical that you know the inner and outer workings of their business operations. This will not only help you feel more confident with the merger, but it will help the merger be a success. Before entering into a merger, look into your potential business partners. Ask for references and even conduct background checks. Talk to employees at all levels of their company to find out how the business runs and the general sentiment concerning business operations from those who are tasked with executing them on a daily basis.
In moving towards finalizing a merger, you should also have a competent transition team in place to help the melding of the businesses as seamless as possible. The transition team should be made up of those who are skilled at not only establishing strategies for a smooth transition, but also communicating these strategies and seeing to it that they are properly executed. The transition team should clearly communicate what will happen during the merger process and the role everyone will play in the merger process to help manage expectations as well as help ensure that all aspects of the merger are handled by the right people.
It will also be vital that you have a thorough understanding of, as well as a clear and accurate picture of, your partner’s financial situation. In a merger, you merge everything. You do not want to be caught off guard by a partner’s financial liabilities or failure to maintain consistent financial records. Look into things such as any state or federal tax issues your partner may be experiencing or have experienced in the past. You will want these sort of things to be fully resolved before the merger. For a merger to be successful and act as an opportunity for your business to grow financially, you must understand the financial situation you may be getting into with your partner.
A successful merger will also necessitate knowing your partner’s clients. Talk to clients and find out what they like about your partner and what could be improved upon. This will shed light on the potential strengths and weaknesses of your partner company. It will also be important for you to understand your partner’s employees and help ensure that their employees will be comfortable merging with your employees. Check in with your employees as well as your partner’s employees. There can be a lot of anxiety as mergers can be seen as times of great uncertainty in a company.
Business Attorneys
Talk to the team at Jones, Gregg, Creehan & Gerace about how we can help you go through a successful business merger. Contact us today.