How M&A can fuel and serve as a catalyst to your transformation journey

Transforming while transacting

Most M&A deals are implemented in two steps:

• Step one: Stabilize an organization after an acquisition, merger, or divestiture.
• Step two: Transformation—reimagine, optimize, and rightsize operations and systems to drive growth and profitability.

This two-step approach is tried and tested, but has drawbacks: the potential to prolong timelines, compromise value realization potential, and create competing agendas and governance structures. It can also deplete deal energy and excitement while leaving parts of the organization wholly unchanged and far from optimized.

Leading organizations and forward-thinking executives are now embracing a transform-while-transacting approach, one in which business transformation is pursued simultaneously with M&A transactions, using the aperture and energy of an M&A deal to redefine the organization.

The transform-while-transacting paradigm can drive faster, more significant, more sustainable value creation. In this report, informed by Deloitte’s experience with clients on more than 10,000 transactions, we explore both the promise and the practical considerations that surround this approach to M&A.