Strategic M&A communications for better business outcomes
About
ÆM&A helps businesses navigate complex people and culture challenges through strategic communication.
By acting as a strategic mediator and communications partner throughout, we help safeguard the value of the deal, ensuring that employees, customers and the wider group of company stakeholders feel confident in the deal’s value and are well-equipped for a successful post merger integration.
Communication helps retain the value of your deal, creating organisational alignment and a smooth integration process.
What’s preventing you from achieving successful M&A communication?
Time pressure
Time pressure to close the deal means that financial, legal and regulatory work usually takes precedent over strategic comms planning and post-merger integration.
Lack of internal resources
Founders work with a small group to maintain confidentiality and momentum, which means that resources that would otherwise be utilised are not involved until the last minute.
Maintaining the day-to-day
Founders need to keep a close eye on the day-to-day operations to avoid any productivity dips that could jeopardise the deal or affect the company’s sale value.
How we work
We act as a strategic communications partner and mediator throughout the M&A process, from due diligence to Announcement Day and beyond.
Working closely with you and your team, we define how the deal is communicated in a way that creates clarity, engagement and alignment across teams, customers and stakeholders, which helps protect the value of the deal.
People-centric
We work with businesses to develop a strategic communications plan that puts employees, customers, and suppliers at the heart of the M&A deal. By prioritising their understanding, engagement, and support, we ensure the full value of the transaction is realised.
Tailored to you
Every company’s culture and communication style is different, so we adapt our approach to meet you where you are. Using proven methods, we guide you toward the best outcome for a smooth and successful transformation.
Always Hands-on
Presentations can help set the vision, but real progress happens through action. We work closely with key stakeholders, actively involving them in the process to encourage ownership and accountability, making transformation a shared success.
What does success look like?
Employees and stakeholders understand the purpose of the deal, and the crucial role they play in making it a success.
Fear and uncertainty are reduced, making way for confidence in the potential of the deal, and its associated benefits.
Customers understand how the deal will affect them, creating reassurance and reducing churn.
Efficiencies and cost savings are realised sooner because the communication of company synergies is made clear from the beginning.
Our services
PREPARATION
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Full assessment of the commonalities and differences between each companies’ communication approaches to lay the foundation for a smooth deal announcement and any unnecessary obstacles for a successful post-merger integration. By looking at nuances in company culture, corporate tone of voice, and preferred ways of communicating, we set the foundations for how information should reach individual stakeholders.
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Different stakeholders, both internal and external, need to understand how the deal affects them and how they can contribute to its success. A people-centric approach makes sure that tailored messaging resonates with each group, leading to a clearer, more nuanced understanding of the deal's impact. It also demonstrates that their perspectives have been considered throughout the process.
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A clear, consistent deal narrative ensures stakeholders hear a unified message from senior management. It should focus on the rationale behind the deal and set expectations for realistic changes that will take place in the short and mid-term. This will help reduce confusion and siloed communication that often takes hold across the company.
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Even with the best planning, rumours and leaks can spread quickly, creating unnecessary confusion and concern. Without a clear strategy for both best- and worst-case scenarios, teams risk being caught off guard. A proactive playbook—outlining exactly what to do if the deal leaks, rumours circulate, or the deal falls through—ensures a swift, confident response when it matters most.
DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT
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You only get one chance to announce the deal, so it needs to be precise—delivered through the right channels, to the right people, with the right message. The narrative should be stress-tested to ensure it reduces uncertainty, provides clear direction, and helps inspire confidence across the organization.
ONGOING SUPPORT
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This is typically the period when competitors and recruiters are circulating to try to pick off your best talent. This is an important period, where we work with internal teams to field concerns from employees and ensure that communication is genuine and transparent. Employees value having difficult messages communicated in a direct way. Prior to Day 1, all stakeholders should understand what is happening and who they should go to for information.
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We work to smooth out any communications bumps during the transition period, working with the post-merger integration team to assess how the comms have been received, and make any adjustments or updates to the strategy if needed.
Get in touch with us