Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) can be complicated and fraught with challenges. Properly executed M&A can be the catalyst of a growth story and market research is an essential tool at all stages of the M&A lifecycle. Deep knowledge of the players, the industry and forecast patterns can make the difference between success and failure in M&A activities.
The 5 Ways Market Research is used throughout the M&A lifecycle: Â
- Planning
M&A leaders regularly simulate certain M&A scenarios to understand the landscape, assess threats to business lines and what the final strategy will look like. Understanding an industry and the players within it is a key aspect of market research. Analysing potential mergers in detail is critical to understand what the final synergies will look like. Furthermore, powerful tools exist to understand Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI) market concentration analysis, saving time and pre-empting potential issues with competition authorities.
Effective planning saves time and money by avoiding deals that may not be beneficial for the involved parties.
- Scouting efficiently
Once a client understands what they wish to achieve from a merger or acquisition, refining the scope is a challenging mandate. Potential target companies may need to fall into a revenue bucket or match a desired geographic footprint. Having access to the right data will enable you to filter through the global marketplace and refine a long list of companies into potential matches based on client need.
- Screening & Short list
To go from long list to short list, you need to evaluate companies against best fit criteria and those that have the most efficient synergies. At this stage you may wish to consider primary market research to answer mission critical questions. Use this to evaluate potential acquisitions and refine selection criteria to match targets with market growth and synergies in areas such as channel, shares and portfolio mixes.
- Competitive due diligence
Due diligence is a stringent process that must cover a wide array of sectors within the target company. Market research will allow in depth exploration of the strategic positioning of the company. Understanding not just the current business– but how robust plans for the future are within the industry. Challenge these plans with confidence using industry leading data.
- Strategic planning & Implementation
Once an acquisition is complete, big plans need to swing into action to complete the synergies and seek growth. Understanding category forecasts and competitor benchmarks means you can set and achieve target growth ambitions within the context of the industry, competitors and the macroeconomic setting.
Euromonitor International is the partner of choice for M&A firms seeking answers to the critical viewpoints above. Clients enjoy access to a powerful database that contains knowledge on thousands of companies and their footprints, providing simple access to understanding not just individual companies and brands, but also their competitors. Analyst-led forecasts enable you to plan for the future and understand if growth targets are reasonable and achievable.
Interested in learning more? Schedule a demonstration and learn how our analysis makes the difference to M&A floors globally.