Small Business Growth Through M&A

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Mergers and acquisitions require finding the right skill set within the company to successfully execute 

As small companies begin to face strategic competitive and growth challenges, M&A can be a useful tool to extend capabilities and expand their footprint. To fully understand whether and how best to apply M&A, growing companies need to bring the skill sets necessary to understand the applicability and execution of acquisitions and their subsequent integration

Common Activities Across Companies

Below are specifics around what a person will do on a day-to-day basis, which can also help a company to determine the appropriate approach, in the context of its organization’s objectives and size.

Business Development

• • Work with business leaders to analyze and develop strategic and commercial requirements for executing on the company’s goals and objectives

• • Engage in and see through major commercial partnership discussions systematically, working with the appropriate leaders

• • Formally represent acquisition or investment stand-alone and synergy cases

• • Oversee preparation and review the results of business-related integration planning and diligence activities

Corporate Development

• • Identify actionable targets and lead discussions through all facets of a transaction on behalf of Guidewire

• • Oversee and represent the official point of view around fair market value and the value that the company might pay for a potential target, based on strategic, financial, and other company-specific factors

• • Coordinate due diligence and integration planning efforts such that it can represent and recommend the appropriate course of action

• • Manage the acquisition or investment process, and working with Legal and other functions, negotiate the various agreements on behalf of the company

Next page: M&A “Best Practices” in Maturing Organizations