Measuring Performance During M&A Integration

Once a target firm is bought, the most difficult job of the acquirer begins: to create the value that was expected from the deal through successful integration of the companiesʹ operations. Whatever the acquirerʹs strategy, combining two firms will often constitute a challenging task for management. The acquirer must implement synergies in order to create value while simultaneously managing issues to avoid value leakage. Building on the findings of exploratory research made by The Conference Board, this article develops a contingency framework for measuring the progress of M&A integration. It addresses two questions specifically: which measures are relevant for monitoring integration, and when should acquirers set up these measures. Answers to these questions should help managers design the measurement tools most useful for supervising the progress of the integration of their acquisitions and for making any mid-course corrections to their integration plan that seem necessary.