Mergercast by Strategy&

In this episode, Paul Leinwand, a Strategy& Senior Partner and author, interviews Gerry Adolph, Senior Partner and leader of the firm's mergers and restructuring group, about the value of taking a capabilities driven approach to the M&A space. Leinwand is co-author of the book The essential advantage: How to win with a capabilities-driven strategy. The two take on a number of important topics, including the popular concept of mergers driven by the idea of becoming too big to fail.

Note: This podcast was originally published by Booz & Company in 2010.

In this second episode of a 3-part series, J. Neely, a Partner at Strategy&, discusses the trap of thinking that scale alone guarantees success in the consumer goods space. He explores topics including the idea that coherence is really the new scale in consumer goods, how companies are competing around capabilities today, and the extent to which organizations are gravitating away from scale alone in selecting M&A targets.

Note: This podcast was originally published by Booz & Company in 2010.

In this first episode of a three part series, J. Neely, a Partner at Strategy&, explores the importance of developing coherence-driven M&A strategies, beginning with how coherence creates better performing organizations. He addresses topics including: what companies must do to develop a coherent approach to their portfolios, how transactions can further a coherence strategy, and exactly how companies should design or tune their M&A efforts to maximize coherence.

Note: This podcast was originally published by Booz & Company in 2010.

In this episode, Gerry Adolph, a Senior Partner at Strategy& and leader of the firm's mergers and restructuring group, shares his insights on what boards of directors need to keep in mind as the M&A environment continues to heat up. He addresses topics including the biggest risks for boards in looking at prospective transactions, how directors should assess different types of deals, what boards should consider when a suitor comes knocking, and how to deal with hostile transactions.

Note: This podcast was originally published by Booz & Company in 2010.

In this episode, Gerry Adolph, a Senior Partner at Strategy& and leader of the firm's mergers and restructuring group, sits down to interview Edward Tse, author of the book: The China Strategy. They speak about the book, which describes how to build the capabilities that business leaders need for operating an integrated China-global strategy, with a particular focus on M&A.

Note: This podcast was originally published by Booz & Company in 2010.

In this episode, Tom Flaherty, a Senior Partner at Strategy&, discusses the concept of velocity and impatience as it impacts the deal environment. He approaches this topic, which is described in the book "Merge ahead: Mastering the five enduring trends of artful M&A" by Gerald Adolph and Justin Pettit, by exploring: whether the pace of business has become too fast; the reason deals are closing more quickly today and its implications for merger integration; and the need for interlocking integration plans, ranging from immediate to 100-day and 1,000-day.

Note: This podcast was originally published by Booz & Company in 2009.

Gerald Adolph, a Senior Partner at Strategy& and leader of the firm's mergers and restructuring group, discusses the concept of merganic growth, which is described in his new book with co-author Justin Pettit titled "Merge ahead: Mastering the five enduring trends of artful M&A" (McGraw Hill, June 2009). Topics include: the extent to which a merganic growth plan is a necessity today, the biggest mistakes to avoid in adopting merganic growth, and building the skills necessary to be a successful merganic acquirer.

Note: This podcast was originally published by Booz & Company in 2009.

Ivan de Sousa, a Senior Partner at Strategy& in Brazil, discusses the key mistakes to avoid in financial sector M&A, specifically focusing on the post-merger integration (PMI) phase. Ivan focuses on mistakes made in three critical areas: planning, execution and result tracking, and governance and integration structure.

Note: This podcast was originally published by Booz & Company in 2009.

Gerald Adolph, Senior Partner of Strategy& and leader of the firm's mergers and restructuring group, discusses the importance of integration planning that incorporates both the first 100 days and the merged organization's longer-term strategic goals. He explores three areas where this type of planning is most important and analyzes the impact of the current economic environment on planning.

Note: This podcast was originally published by Booz & Company in 2008.

J Neely, Partner at Strategy&, explains why divestitures in today's environment are much harder than they appear, potentially impacting not only the divested entity but the seller itself. Booz Allen has identified seven key hurdles to successful divestitures and J discusses several of them in detail during the interview.

Originally published as: Seven reasons divestitures are harder than you think, Booz Allen Hamilton, 2007.