Borris - The Grow or Die Ultimatum - Creating Value Through Acquisition and Blended, Long-Term Improvement Formulas

THE

GROW or DIE

ULTIMATUM

DANIEL BORRIS

THE

GROW or DIE

ULTIMATUM

CREATING VALUE THROUGH ACQUISITION AND BLENDED, LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENT

CRC Press

Taylor & Francis Group

6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300

Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742

2017 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business

No claim to original U.S. Government works

Printed on acid-free paper

Version Date: 20160524

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4987-5683-9 (Hardback)

This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint.

Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers.

For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copyright.com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged.

Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Borris, Daniel, author.

Title: The grow or die ultimatum : creating value through acquisition and blended, long-term improvement formulas / Daniel Borris.

Description: Boca Raton, FL : Taylor & Francis, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016001965 | ISBN 9781498756839 (hardcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Consolidation and merger of corporations.

Classification: LCC HD2746.5 .B67 2016 | DDC 658.1/62--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016001965

Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at

http://www.taylorandfrancis.com

and the CRC Press Web site at

http://www.crcpress.com

Contents

It seems to me that given the oft-quoted statistics regarding the high failure rate of acquired companies that achieve the targeted synergy savings, the synergies that triggered the acquisitions in the first place with some quotes as high as 95%, there is a need for a book on the topic that is largely aimed at medium-sized companies.

The main reasons for failure are often cited as including poor strategic fit, a failed cultural marriage, failure to identify crucial issues in the due diligence process, and failures resulting from any business integration. This book therefore is focused on this end of the M&A process. In addition, it highlights the need to ensure the current business is in optimum shape before adding a new one to the mix. Mergers and acquisitions are bloody hard work! It is unlikely that you would automate a production line before you had it working properly in a manual state. The same truth holds when grafting a new business onto an existing one.

Although the information in this book will prove of value to any company, I believe it is medium-sized businesses that likely need the most help. It is harder for them to recover from adverse financial surprises than it is for their larger sister companies, and yet often they are faced with the need to do an acquisition. They are unlikely to have a permanent M&A department or the financial resources to hire the top gun experts in the field and so they must make do with what they have. I sincerely hope the information in this book helps to fill that gap.

My brother Steven and I just had our book The Success or Die Ultimatum published by CRC Press, a publisher who is truly dedicated to supporting productivity across the globe. For me, this was my first book and for Steven his third. The Success or Die Ultimatum makes a very clear statement of how we feel about spreading our know-how and sharing what we believe works best. This follow-up book is intended to achieve those same goals with an expanded view on mergers and acquisitions.

Looking back at my life, it seems I remember almost everything; sometimes a casual statement can become a guiding principle. One guy told me that everything you ever learn in any job during your life goes into your briefcase and you carry it with you to the next job; nothing is ever lost. The years spent working on tool and die assist you when you are helping to turn around an automotive parts supplier in need; the experience you gain working as a shift manager in high-speed packaging helps when youre the COO of a plastics company. The analysis work you apply during a night-shift as a consultant in a call center makes you stronger when you are the managing director of a business process outsourcing company (BPO); truly nothing is ever lost.

My career has taken me across the globe, working as a senior executive and as a consultant and yet from the earliest days I was driven by the desire to simplify for others the learning that I gained along the way. To help achieve this in The Success or Die Ultimatum, we used a novel approach where we applied characterization to our cast of players as opposed to following a textbook approach. I have used the same style in these current writings, The Grow or Die Ultimatum: Creating Value through Acquisition and Blended Long-Term Improvement Formulas. The characters exhibit a conglomeration of traits I have encountered in real life but are not related to any specific people. The same holds true for the problems covered. In fact, more often than not the characters have been created as an amalgam of my own best and worst selves.

I hope you find it adds to your skill sets and that you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed the writing of it.

I thank everyone at every level in every organization in which I have had the privilege to work. From the CEO to the frontline folks who keep their fingers on the green button and make the whole thing go every day, you are all heroes.

Id also like to thank those who have mentored me along the way; there are many and I offer my apologies for naming only a few: George Ross, Elaine Minacs, John Crncich, and Brian Delaney.

My sincere gratitude is extended to Martin LaChapelle for the excellent graphic art work he has applied in taking my sketches and turning them into the 30 fine figures that illustrate this book.

Id also like to thank Michael Sinocchi of Taylor & Francis Group for his help and support on the publication of this book and also on the publication of