Delivering the M&A deal 

Investors and companies undertake deals to create value. Our research indicates that 47% of deals that fail do so primarily due to a lack of strategic planning and execution rigour related to people risks.

This report examines what that means to dealmakers worldwide, drawing from a wide variety of datasets and insights. The significant body of data reveals practical insights from an in-depth survey of deal professionals across the entire transactional spectrum.

Value creation is critical and complex. Weaving together insights from survey respondents and case studies, we found the following to be top priorities across deal phases:

Based on the significance of post-close issues that hampered value creation, respondents cite their top areas of focus as:

There is a clear connection between the rigour with which people issues are proactively addressed and the likelihood of deal success. Aligning the deal thesis with how leadership acts, the organisational behaviours the culture reinforces, and the talent skill sets retained and attracted is key.

When left unaddressed, these key aspects can derail an M&A deal: