Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Daniel Welch's avatar

I think the QB analogy is a good one, but there’s one more dimension that is critical. The discipline of the acquiring org is just as critical to M&A success as the quality of the target.

A significant number of those QBs get drafted early by teams with losing records, a consequence of being poorly managed organizations and generally lacking in the athletic talent (offensive line, receivers, running backs) necessary to make a talented QB successful.

When the acquiring organization is financially and operationally disciplined, experienced in integration and focused on the right outcomes, I think the success rate skews much higher.

There are entire companies built on this model (eg, LVMH).

Expand full comment
1 more comment...

No posts