CEO’s guide to strategic IT for M&A or exit.

UK M&A activity progressively increased during 2017 and is forecast to grow further during 2018. With growth in most economic regions forecast to continue, total global M&A during 2018 is expected to reach a staggering £2.4 Trillion.

Many of our clients are planning growth through M&A or exit and strategic IT is vital in delivering their plans. Even where there are no specific M&A plans, clients often approach us on the basis that they want to create conditions that would enable a transaction in the medium or long-term. But, actually, the issues that would be assessed during due diligence are important points for all companies. Put simply, M&A due diligence criteria are a convenient basis for CEOs to assess their own company’s IT strategy, regardless of any M&A plans. By looking at your own business through the eyes of a prospective buyer or lender, you can more clearly see your own systems efficiency and scalability, digital plans and risk exposure.

Getting the IT right for M&A or exit is an important part of the plan. This CEO’s guide is based on our experience from the clients we have worked with, it also includes a list of questions that can be used for a Board workshop or third party review.

This document covers practical issues concerning strategic business IT for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and exit or disposal. It describes issues relating to due diligence, cost control, insource, outsource strategy and supplier management, and licenses, contracts and exit clauses. The document describes due diligence weaknesses and how to overcome them and maximise value. It discusses how to standardise processes, systems, tools and technologies and maximise use of cloud. And how to handle M&A and exit IT risks, issues and information security, intellectual property (IP), GDPR, PCI and confidentiality. The document provides advice on IT due diligence consultancy and how to get started.