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M&A Clients
ABN AMRO/Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis, Santander
ABN AMRO, located in 53 countries, hired PRITCHETT to develop Merger Toolkits for the bank’s Executives, Managers, and Human Resource Professionals. PRITCHETT conducted pre-merger training worldwide and advised Business Unit managers on how to keep their organizations focused and productive while waiting for the closure of this complex international acquisition
The merger of A. G. Edwards with Wachovia Securities created the second-largest retail brokerage firm in the U.S. Prior to the close date, PRITCHETT worked closely with A. G. Edwards preparing the organization for the merger. The entire workforce at the corporate office attended PRITCHETT’s merger integration sessions. Senior leaders attended Executive Briefings, and PRITCHETT partnered with executives to conduct panel discussions for all branch managers. As a result of the PRITCHETT sessions, A. G. Edwards’ employees were able to execute a smoother transition.
The Unilever acquisition of Alberto Culver created widespread change within the organizations. PRITCHETT delivered merger integration training to Alberto Culver managers and employees in United States, Canada, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. The program helped Alberto Culver engage people and maintain focus on the most critical priorities during the transition.
PRITCHETT assisted the Bank One IT department with their integration with First Chicago NBD. Our consultants focused primarily on improving the two-way information flow within the IT department during the merger integration planning period. PRITCHETT’s communication work paved the way for a more methodological and disciplined approach to employee communication in the merged organization.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange/Chicago Board of Trade
Price Pritchett, founder and CEO of PRITCHETT, delivered the keynote address at the executive kickoff to launch the integration planning process. During the project, PRITCHETT senior consultants provided ongoing counsel to the Integration Steering Committee with particular focus on transition management, staffing and retention, communication, and culture.
Credit Union Central BC/Credit Central Union of Ontario
PRITCHETT advised top management and the two Boards of Directors on the integration strategy for the merger of Credit Union Central of British Columbia and Credit Union Central of Ontario. Over $50 billion in combined assets were combined.
PRITCHETT certified 80 internal trainers to deliver a customized workshop and helped them consult to specific business units throughout the transition period. Our merger training program helped retain key talent and maintain Mobil’s stock price during the waiting period. Each employee received a copy of PRITCHETT’s best-selling handbook, The Employee Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions.
PRITCHETT assisted the GAF/Elk Executive Team and Integration Steering Committee to identify, acknowledge, and address significant differences in culture that threatened to derail the success of their deal. Through a series of Executive Offsite Meetings facilitated by PRITCHETT senior advisors, GAF/Elk worked through their differences and found common ground. PRITCHETT helped frame difficult issues, diffuse cultural conflict, and reinforce collaborative decision-making techniques which enabled the new joint Executive Team to accelerate the integration.
PRITCHETT assisted Guidant through the entire integration process for a major acquisition—from the merger announcement, through
acquisition integration planning,
to the formal debrief at the end of the project that captured lessons learned and best practices. With PRITCHETT’s help, Guidant was able to achieve its integration goals and successfully leverage the manufacturing capability of the target.
Several months after a previous merger had been managed internally by Hunt, PRITCHETT was asked to conduct a Post-Merger Audit to identify what went well and what could have been done differently. PRITCHETT interviewed all executives plus other select managers who had significant responsibilities during the integration process. PRITCHETT’s Post-Merger Audit Report identified areas where additional benefits could be realized from the deal. In addition, PRITCHETT documented which processes added real value and which were a waste of time and resources. This crucial information helped Hunt proceed to the next deal with confidence in the approach and methodology it would deploy.
PRITCHETT developed an Integration Software Toolkit specifically designed for small business owners to help John Deere’s independent dealerships consolidate. The Toolkit guided small business owners through each step of the integration process and provided practical tools for analyzing risks and opportunities.
PRITCHETT helped London Life develop an integration project plan for initial announcement, integration planning, and post-deal implementation. In addition, PRITCHETT developed an effective, comprehensive Communication Plan and Talent Retention Plan. As a result, employees in both companies experienced less ambiguity and confusion and reacted more favorably to the deal. More than 98% of the sales force was retained.
Maritime Life was the Canadian division of John Hancock. When John Hancock was acquired by Manulife, there were significant redundancies. PRITCHETT worked with Maritime Life to identify the talent needed during the transition period and the permanent talent needed to integrate the business. In addition, PRITCHETT senior advisors coached each member of the Maritime Life Executive Team through the transition period, ensuring that the parts of the business they were responsible for continued to hit their objectives despite the distractions that accompanied the integration.
Novell/Attachmate
PRITCHETT trained Novell managers in United States, Ireland, UK, Germany, India, and Japan. 90% of the attendees agreed or agreed strongly that PRITCHETT’s Maneuvering Through Uncertainty merger training program was helpful and worthwhile. The program helped management protect productivity, improve communication, re-recruit key players, and prepare people for the integration challenges that lie ahead.
Both Peco Energy and ComEd had completed several acquisitions and wanted to improve their
acquisition integration
approach. They engaged PRITCHETT to conduct merger training for their integration team leads and managers. Managers then conducted meetings with their direct reports based on the best-practice sessions. PRITCHETT’s The Employee Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions was distributed to more than 5,000 associates, ensuring that both managers and employees knew what to expect and how to lead during the waiting period.
PRITCHETT delivered its HR & OD Merger Integration merger workshop to Schering Plough’s Global Quality Services and Corporate Human Resources organizations. These groups were trained on how best to identify, re-engage, and re-recruit top talent and maintain focus on results during the pre-close period.
Solvay Pharmaceuticals/Abbott Laboratories
Immediately after Abbott Laboratories’ announcement of its intention to acquire Solvay Pharmaceuticals, PRITCHETT was contracted to conduct Maneuvering Through Uncertainty in Divestitures training to prepare Solvay’s managers for the merger. Subsequent to the training, Solvay's managers used PRITCHETT’s customized Team Briefing Guides to educate and coach their teams. The PRITCHETT programs and materials enabled the divested pharmaceuticals organization to protect productivity and strengthen communications during the months leading up to the deal’s close.
Within a two-month period, PRITCHETT helped educate the entire Warner Lambert workforce on the human dynamics of mergers. We developed a Leader’s Toolkit, distributed The Employee Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions worldwide, and certified 40 internal Warner Lambert trainers to deliver PRITCHETT pre-merger training workshops. Pfizer used the same program in many of their own divisions following the merger.
Weyerhaeuser/MacMillan Bloedel
PRITCHETT served as advisor to the Integration Steering Committee and Integration Teams on this culturally complex
acquisition integration
.The project began with an Executive Briefing on Merger Integration Strategy by CEO, Price Pritchett. During the engagement, senior PRITCHETT advisors assisted with the integration process and planning. PRITCHETT conducted assessments and developmental recommendations for 153 key players in the acquired organization and was instrumental in retaining 51 of the 55 extremely critical managers needed for integration success. PRITCHETT conducted a Post-Merger Audit to ensure that the full value potential of the deal had been extracted. Upon exit, PRITCHETT left behind a fully-documented process that Weyerhaeuser used for future acquisitions.
PRITCHETT customized WhitmanHart’s
acquisition integration
methodology to address issues such as soft due diligence, communications, re-recruitment, and integration planning.
PRITCHETT materials were translated into 24 languages, and 198 internal Wyeth facilitators were certified to deliver the Maneuvering Through Uncertainty in Mergers training. Over just four months, more than 23,000 Wyeth managers and employees around the world attended PRITCHETT’s program. The training and toolkits enabled Wyeth personnel to manage the dynamics of the pre-close stage, deliver results, and maintain the value of the business.
