In October we ran a masterclass in M&A communications. Merger and acquisitions communications planning is challenging because a merger is always a fast-breaking story. Rumours will start to fly as soon as people pick up the scent that a merger is bubbling. Everybody will have an opinion, and all the rules of gossip prevail. In this tense environment, it is easy for messages to be misinterpreted, twisted, or exaggerated. Therefore communication planning requires much more thought in a merger than it does during more stable, less stressful circumstances.
The event focus In 2016, two significant mergers played out. Ball Corporation merged with Rexam becoming the largest manufacturer of beverage cans in the world, and AB InBev merged with SAB Miller, becoming the world’s first truly global brewer.
Rexam and Ball Corporation resulted in a £5bn merger, making well over half of the world’s annual 300bn cans, and SAB Miller and AB InBev resulted in a £105bn merger and the largest ever transaction in UK history.
Mark Bunker, former Group Director of Communications at Rexam, alongside Duncan Gordon, former Global Director of Communications at AB Inbev and Justine Stevenson, former Head of Internal Communication at SAB Miller, explored these M&A communications challenges and shared with us their key learnings.
Key learnings Getting to grips with the process and potential timescales is key. Here’s a guideline of the process:
Approach and offer
Board agreement: offer acceptance
Regulatory pre-conditions (potential divestments)
Convergence planning: day one/first 100 days focus
Shareholder vote
Change of control
Integration and synergy realisation
You’ll be managing a multitude of stakeholders for which you have to be prepared. Here’s a list of the key people likely to be involved: employees; c
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