Often acquisitions fall apart within 24 hours before the close. And the lack of a comprehensive integration plan can spell disaster for the newly combined organization.

Acquisitions are a great way to achieve cost advantages, grow revenues rapidly, acquire sets of skills and technology or a strategic strategy to promote growth.

But there are three things you can keep in mind if planning for a merger or acquisition.

Develop a clear but flexible comprehensive integration plan. Don’t wait until the sale has closed to think about integration. Begin developing a short- and long-term integration plan for due diligence is a good start. The more major decisions you make before the close, the better. Have a team at the ready to facilitate mergers and who can develop a timeline for deliverables and responsibilities.

Avoid culture clashes. Every business has a district business social culture that indentifies the business. When two cultures clash it can lead to integration failure. Being clear about the company culture will help prevent the process from going awry. So before the deal closes

           1. Identify the similarities and differences in the company cultures

          2. Define the culture you want to build.

          3. Develop a plan to address points of confrontation and how to measure post merger problems.

Prioritize transparency. Meet with key stakeholders and address their concerns related to the merger early. Your teams comittment to the newly merged company can make or break the acquisition. Also realize that an acquisition can shift organizational roles and dynamics. Bring together leaders from both businesses who are enthusiastic about the merger and have the most to gain from the merger. Create a timeline for filling C-level and direct report roles avoid having valuable performers snatched up by competitors.

Portions of this report were provided by Jordan Spivack of Axial