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Management SummaryStern Stewart Research // Volume 62

Acquiring a company can generate or destroy a lot of value for an enterprise within a short period of time. That is why, in order to accomplish value-adding growth with the purchase, the transaction has to be strategically and specifically prepared, expertly executed and include extensive integration measures, so that all of the intended effects on earnings can be realized. It is important that the company’s organizational structure is not overtaxed by the deal, and that sufficient resources are made available. The management has to concentrate fully on the negotiations during the transaction, and the decisions relating to it. So a project team is required that is always in control of the situation and that monitors all the process steps and involved parties.
The following phases are generally involved in a transaction process, in order to accomplish its predefined corporate goals, and not to subsequently have to adjust the corporate goals to fit the transaction:

FOUR PHASES
1. Identifying value and growth potential: In which parts of the company can value be generated through growth? 2. Prioritizing the investment opportunities: Which opportunities for growth can and should be realized? 3. Conducting the transaction: What steps have to be taken into account when executing the transaction? 4. Post-merger integration: How can the success of the transaction be ensured in the implementation phase?

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Stern Stewart & Co. is the independent strategy boutique. With a truly entrepreneurial team of independent thinking personalities.
The center of gravity of an open universe of cutting edge know-how. Advising clients in strategy, transaction, performance and
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Gerhard Nenning

Gerhard focuses on strategy development, typically followed by organizational transformation. His creative and rigorously independent thinking has impacted strategic decisions in growing as well as contracting businesses. Often going against the grain, Gerhard has devised ambitious growth strategies outside of the client's initial comfort zone. Conversely, he has helped prevent multi-billion investments which in hind-sight would have been crippling. In his capacity as the Executive Director of the Stern Stewart Institute, Gerhard shapes the Institute's agenda of dialogue with leaders in business, politics, and science.

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Dr. Wulf Rendtorff

Wulf is a real asset in all transaction and transformation challenges. Holding a PhD in Law, he combines sharp business sense with thourough legal expertise. With 15+ years of managing key growth initiatives, developing portfolio management solutions and optimizing business models, Wulf is the one to talk to before jumping shortsighted into big transformations. He has advised on complex corporate finance solutions and deals including their organizational integration throughout all industries, making him an expert in corporate transactions worldwide. As a passionate golfer, Wulf definitely knows that it is all about strategy, mindset and picking the right spot – skills that come in handy in his project work, too.

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Ralph Hesse

Ralph has an impressive track record of over 10 years in our comnpany. And he is a very rare combination: a razor-sharp analytical brain with a truly creative and out-of-the-Box mind. Being able to put complex things into boxes as well as to think and create value beyond all boxes, Ralph has developed and shaped strategic decisions: a vast range from M&A to corporate finance to operational improvements - you name it. When it comes to large-scale transformations, Ralph focuses on the real business impact, with just the right amount of pragmatism navigating the organizational maze of corporations. Maybe it comes from his passion for photography - but Ralph truly masters the oxymoron of being focused whilst seeing the big picture!

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