Major corporate transactions such as acquisitions, IPOs, mergers, demergers or capital raising for most organisation are outside their area of experience and expertise. Yet these types of transactions are very often either 'company makers' or 'company breakers'. So getting the appropriate expertise and experience on board the acquisition team is essential to ensure the right decisions are made in respect of go/no-go and in the event of proceeding that the 'lie of the land' is well understood and that integration plans are based on a solid foundation of understanding.
'Due Diligence' as the term implies is the process of 'ensuring that due or appropriate diligence is exercised by those responsible in the organisation for proposing, planning, and executing the transaction'. You can find due diligence check-lists all over the internet, but no checklist can cover the breadth of what is really needed to manage a major corporate transaction successfully covering off as much risk as possible and pro-actively putting in place plans for successfully executing the transaction and delivering the benefits that lead a board to approve the transaction in the first place. To exercise due diligence around a major transaction such as an acquisition there are many aspects to the work to be accomplished by the transaction team: |
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Ure P Auckland has 30 years commercial experience, and 15 years as a senior executive in CFO, COO, VP, General Manager, Director, or Company Secretary roles. As a senior executive he gained direct experience from four acquisitions (three by Australian companies of US companies), two IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) on ASX, a merger of two US businesses, a demerger of an Australian division into a venture capital funded US company, and a number of capital raisings ‘on-market’ and through venture capitalists. Through these transactions Ure engaged with some of Australia’s leading legal and accounting firms and thus his experience includes a best practice awareness of how the large professional advisory firms work in respect of corporate transactions. Authegrity’s fees are a fraction of what you are likely to pay the most junior lawyer that your legal advisers assign to the transaction and the commercial experience brought to the transaction through Authegrity can leverage potentially millions of dollars through savings, risks avoided, or greater success. Major corporate transactions are high risk activities, and that must be understood by any organisation considering one. Working on a transaction is excellent experience for any executive, but the first time an executive is responsible for a major transaction it is wise to bring in an advisor experienced in major transactions so that the transaction team is supported by the experience of someone who has been through multiple transactions from beginning to end and understands how things inter-relate, what the key risks are, and what action can be undertaken to enhance success. In addition to transaction experience, Authegrity can offer deep experience in any change management processes that are needed to integrate businesses, or support people and culture. A core focus for Authegrity as its name suggests is values based change management work with organisations supporting teams to communicate authentically to get to the heart of business issues in an approach grounded in integrity. Ure has extensive experience in successfully managing the people and culture side of acquisitions for example. If you have a due diligence requirement in or around Brisbane or South East Queensland and need an experienced set of hands to work with your project, talk to Ure and find out the various approaches that might be taken to supporting your organisation with a major corporate transaction. Ure P Auckland +61-413-051-604 Authegrity Pty Ltd Brisbane |