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Culture Shock
September 23, 2008
Culture can often be one of the more complex issues dealmakers face when combining two businesses. Indeed, trying to make fast friends out of merged rivals has on more than one occasion torpedoed an otherwise well-planned merger.
It's going to be interesting in the coming months to watch how the consolidation sweeping through the financial services space will unfold. On paper, the deals make absolute sense. When one considers the cultural issues Bank of America faces with its Merrill Lynch acquisition, for example, it's clear they have their work cut out for them. I imagine it goes beyond the whole WWF vs. WCW debate.
In other news, the airlines continue to map out their integration plans, while HP's consolidation efforts with EDS begins with designs to lay off almost 25,000 over the next three years. These stories and others can be found below.
Ken MacFadyen ken.macfadyen@sourcemedia.com
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Reader Comments
The critical success factor for any merger or carve out is the top management committment and direction from both parties. Cultural or any other issues can be moderated, managed and directed to planned strategy. What is not happening in many cases is a CLEAR,strong and combined message and communication from the top, from the board level, about the direction and execution of the transaction. [Emma Arakelyan, September 26, 2008]