First Call Advisors
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Examples of our work
| Post Merger Integration Support The problem: A newly funded portfolio company of a venture capital firm was about to make its first acquisition. The VC firm and the company management were very comfortable with their target selection and price, but they did not have a great deal of experience in actual intregration. What we did: We helped the acquiring company review their prepared approach, identified potential gaps, and made recommendations for optimizing the process. Once the deal was closed, we provided advice to the integration manager and the functional team leaders as they implemented the integration plans. The end result: The client received targeted support on critical integration issues, received access to best practices, and avoided a few hidden pitfalls. We were also able to provide advice on additional issues that came up during the merger. Our approach allowed the client to maintain full control and leadership of the integration while having the benefit of our expertise. Using the 'pay as you go, ' as-needed fee structure, the client was able to get critical support at a fraction of what a typical project based consultant would have charged. Acquisition Target Review The problem: A business unit head had charged a team to evaluate a large potential M&A transaction. The team came back in support of the deal, having identified numerous potential acquisition synergies. The BU head invited us to sit in on the presentation which summarized their findings, and asked for our point of view. Normally this is a role that most merger consultants would not want: if they support the recommendations, they feel like a rubber stamp, and are concerned that the work will appear to have their approval even though they did not do it, did not quality check it, and did not get paid for it. If they don't support the recommendations, it might appear that they did so in order to get a consulting project for themselves. What we did: At the end of the presentation, we told the team we had a number of questions. For each question, we asked the team whether they agreed if the question was important to understanding the value of the deal (they agreed almost all of them were). Then we asked which ones they had answers to. For most, they did not -- and agreed that they did not. As a result they came to the realization that they still needed to do some work. In the meeting, we outlined a number of sample analytics that could resolve the issues. Over the next month, the team completed the work (with some limited ongoing support from us, mostly in the form of helping them structure the analysis) and came to the conclusion that many of the expected synergies would not be realized, and thus the deal was not a good one, not only at the price they were contemplating paying, but at almost any price. The end result: The team felt good about their conclusions, since they had made them, and were not 'told' that they were wrong. (Later, the company they were considering buying went bankrupt as the key technology did not prove economically viable). All this was accomplished without the need to bring in an outside team of merger consultants. Small retailer turnaround The problem: A family owned retailer was struggling, having lost money for 7 straight years, surviving only through loans received from a friend of the family. They also feared the opening of a Wal-Mart close to their main store, and wondered if they could find new ways to compete. What we did: We were engaged to help determine whether an online storefront would be beneficial, and to generally advise the Board. In the very first Board meeting, just a few weeks after we were brought in, we were shown the current financials. We uncovered a major problem: the current cash situation was untenable, and the company would run out of cash in less than 2 months. Our role was immediately changed to help with a turnaround. Our professional took defacto control of the retail operations, and in less than 6 weeks, using a series of simple, easily understood operating models, changed the way the business was being run by the store managers. The owners supported the new approach with management and incentive changes. The end result: Given their cash crunch, we mutually agreed on a fee structure that was performance based, and where we shared in the incremental margins from new business. The net result was that the company not only avoided the financial collapse, but within a year turned profitable and has grown dramatically since then. Strategy Update The problem: A multinational plastics company needed to update their 5 year strategy. They had prepared the previous strategy with the help of a large consulting firm, and while they were pleased with the results of that project, did not want to invest the $1+ million required to hire them again. In addition, they wanted their own management team to take the lead on the effort to ensure ownership and buy in. Being a global firm, they wanted any outside business advisors to be comfortable working with different cultures and in different countries. What we did: One of our senior professionals worked with the CEO and the senior management team to prioritize the key issues and the scope of the strategic update. A global strategy team was assigned, and our professional was added as an outside advisor to the team. We helped the team develop the project workplan, aided in prioritizing the key issues, suggested analyses and frameworks to resolve the key issues, provided best practices from other industries, and helped codify the results and conclusions for the Board. Since all of the team members were performing their normal line duties, our role also included making sure that assigned tasks were completed on time and in a manner that would lead to efficient team meetings, which were held by conference call and in person once a month. We also served as a personal advisor to certain members of the team and the divisional president, who was not part of the team. The end result: A new strategy that was totally 'owned' by the management team who would be responsible for implementing it, at a fraction of the cost of a traditional consulting firm. The divisional manager and CEO were also able to get ongoing advice and support long after the strategy was complete without needing to conduct another consulting project. High Tech Startup The problem: Two PhD's wanted to leave their large technology company and start their own business. Though they had run successful business units within their corporation, they had little experience in a startup: developing a value proposition, scoping the business, writing a business plan, raising money, deciding on ownership structure, etc. What we did: We worked with them as they developed their business proposition, and then helped create the business plan after advising them on all the associated decisions (ownership, management, strategy). We helped prepare proformas, advised on who to approach for venture funds, and assisted in the presentations. The end result: The end result was a successful company startup after an initial fundraising of several million dollars, followed by subsequent tranches of capital. |
First Call Advisors
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