Looking for insights, tips and recommendations on how to address the information technology (IT) side of mergers and acquisitions (M&A)? You’ve come to the right place.

This second installment in our "Making the Deal Work" series addresses challenges facing IT in mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. It offers an in-depth look into M&A IT issues, ranging from the overall role of IT in M&A transactions to effective construction and execution of a transition services agreement.

Here is a sampling of what it includes:

• The IT landscape
  - Will you sink or swim? Can you pull off this deal without outside M&A IT consulting support? introduces critical transaction-related and organization-related factors to consider when deciding whether to engage outside M&A IT consulting support, and includes the M&A IT Intelligence Quotient Assessment Tool™ that you can use to help assess your organization’s ability to complete a current M&A IT transaction.
• Synergy capture
  - Ignorance is not bliss: IT due diligence is fundamental for post-merger synergy capture presents practical tips to consider for conducting due diligence along multiple dimensions: business, operational, delivery, financial, and people. By asking the right questions, at the right time, the CIO can increase the likelihood that IT will deliver the anticipated synergy of the post-deal enterprise.
• Integration
  - Virtual fences: Five ways to retain IT people when you need them most presents a down-to-earth way to address employees’ concerns about a merger, acquisition, or divestiture to help earn their confidence and win their commitment to the transformation ahead.
• Divestiture
  - Fast break: A way to design and manage TSAs to achieve a fast and clean separation illustrates factors to consider in creating an effective Transition Services Agreement (TSA), one of the most crucial elements of a divestiture. An effective TSA can help both buyer and seller accomplish their respective goals.
  

Order a print copy to have on hand whenever you need to address IT issues in an M&A transaction.

Here's an excerpt:
“The role of IT in business has never been more significant than it is today.  IT is a critical enabler of virtually every operating element in contemporary organizations, and timely access to information is unquestionably of paramount importance. The ability to keep one’s company “on the rails” while simultaneously executing a complex merger, acquisition or divestiture is a skill which needs to be part of every contemporary CIO’s repertoire.”

Related Content: 
Series: Making the Deal Work
Book: M&A Lies
Resources: M&A Library
Overview: M&A Consultative Services