A decade after our first study on merger integration,
A.T. Kearney has revisited the topic and discovered new
insights into what makes for a successful merger
integration. Among our conclusions: Some of the most
commonly accepted wisdom surrounding M&A strategy needs
to be revised. From personal interviews with more than
30 integration managers in Europe, the United States and
Australia, we learned that successful unions no longer
rely on reducing costs as heavily as in the past, nor do
they focus as keenly on managing cultural differences.
Success is certainly not all about speed or applying
sophisticated tools for managing the process.
Instead, today’s successful integration managers use a
different, more nuanced approach. For them, success is
found by establishing clear structures—skillfully
combining leadership with execution and placing greater
emphasis on achieving growth. In this paper, we outline
the key findings of our study and discuss their
implications for achieving successful integrations. pdf
