Digital solutions can help achieve success with post-merger integration. The document discusses challenges with PMI including people, collaboration and communication issues. It then provides examples of companies that have leveraged digital tools for PMI, including Symantec using an app called "Applause" after acquiring Veritas and Wells Fargo using blogs and Twitter during its integration with Wachovia. The document concludes that consistent use of digital tools like social media, analytics and collaboration technology can maximize the benefits of mergers and acquisitions.

1. Achieving success with Post
Merger Integration (PMI) using
Digital solutions
FEBRUARY 2016
SUDHIR SWAMY

2. Contents
 State of PMI in 2015
 Key issues with PMI
 Benefits of using digital solutions in PMI
 Examples of companies leveraging digital tools for PMI
 Case studies
 Key Conclusions
 Recommendations
2

3. State of PMI in 2015
Deloitte survey findings
3
Source: Integration Report 2015 Putting the pieces together), Deloitte

4. People, collaboration and communication
present key challenges to successful PMI…
4
Source: M&A 2.0 - Avinash Jhangiani (2012)

5. Digital enablers and tools can help meet the
challenges and maximize the benefits of M&A
5
Source: M&A 2.0 - Avinash Jhangiani (2012)

6. Companies have leveraged digital tools to
driver successful mergers, in the past…
# M&A instance Sector/
Geography
Year Digital tools
used for PMI
Target audience
1 Symantec and Veritas Technology/
US
2005 Web based app – ‘Applause’ to
retain staff
Internal
2 Wachovia and Wells
Fargo Bank
Financial Services/
US
2009 Social Media – Blogs, Twitter
Analytics – for IT integration
Internal and external
3 Cisco and Pari
Networks
Technology/
US
2011 Wikis and Digital collaborative tools Internal
4 American Airlines and
US Airways
Airlines/
US
2013 Social media – Facebook, Twitter
and YouTube
External
5 Schneider Electric and
Invensys
Energy/
Europe
2014 Websites, web ads,
Social media – Blogs, Twitter
Internal and external
6 Anthem and Cigna Health Insurance/
US
2015 Combined website External
7 Aetna and Humana Health Insurance/
US
2015 Combined website Internal and external
8 Trinity Health Healthcare/
US
2006-
2011
Digital platform – back-end Internal
9 Cigna, Atos, Newell-
Rubbermaid
Multiple - Analytics – Social Network Analysis Internal
6
Source: Internet research

7. PMI Case studies
7

8. ‘Applause’ to engage
Symantec and Veritas
 Symantec acquired Veritas Software in 2005
 Staff more than doubled from 6,500 to 14,000
 Talented staff started getting offers from other
Silicon Valley competitors
 Symantec introduced Applause that year to
boost employee recognition and target its top
15% performers
 Using Applause, Symantec staff can
congratulate colleagues who go beyond their
job description (in a good way) or introduce
novel ideas.
 In 2011, 81% of Symantec’s staff received some
monetary award through Applause.
Source: http://fortune.com/2012/01/26/a-digital-pat-on-the-back-from-the-boss-whats-it-worth/
8

9. Customers ‘join the conversation’
Wells Fargo Bank and Wachovia
 Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia in 2009 with integration expected to take
three years
 Wells Fargo became a banking industry pioneer in the use of social media
with the launch of a new blog in Jan 2009
 Objective of the blog was to keep customers up-to-speed with progress
on its merger with Wachovia
 Five team members of the integration team including the CEO, John
Stumpf, were key contributors to the blog
 Wachovia already had a presence on Twitter and used it to promote the
blog
 Wachovia customers responded with a number of questions about the
transition
 To ensure an improved online experience for customers, the integration
team used predictive analytics to determine whether existing systems
could support added traffic and then laid the foundation for the plan
ahead
 Wells Fargo pulled off probably the largest bank integration of all time.
The team successfully completed the work just a few months after the
three-year anniversary of the acquisition.
Source: http://www.finextra.com/blogs/fullblog.aspx?blogid=2319,
http://www.banktech.com/management-strategies/the-wellsfargovia-blog-social-media-meets-merger-communications/d/d-id/1292533?
"Here we'll share news and information, and you
can "join the conversation" and let us know along
the way how we're doing and what we can do better
to make the transition as smooth as possible.“ –
John Stumpf, CEO, Wells Fargo (2 January 2009)
9

10. Collaborate to integrate
Cisco Systems and Pari Networks
 Cisco acquired Pari Networks in 2011. Pari solutions are used in
the Cisco Smart Services offering
 After the acquisition, Pari employees in San Jose and India joined
the Cisco Services business unit
 Cisco IT needed to execute the work stream based integration plan
within 30 days
 Digital collaborative solutions were identified for the specific
challenges of supporting Pari's India office – Cisco Telepresence,
Cisco WebEx online meetings, Cisco WebEx Connect and Cisco
AnyConnect VPN client
 Specifically, the integration team achieved the following goals:
 Employee orientation sessions were held on the first day after
the deal closed.
 The move to the Cisco Bangalore office was completed on time.
 Pari employees joined Cisco Services and were productive
immediately.
 Integration was completed in 30 days
Source: Integrating a Corporate Acquisition, http://cisco.com
"From the start of the first day, we had everything we
needed to begin working as Cisco employees, "
Kishore Kumar, director of engineering, Cisco and former
CEO, Pari Networks.
10

11. Combining energies for a ‘bright future’
Schneider Electric and Invensys
 French Energy giant Schneider Electric acquired British FTSE 100
company, Invensys plc, in Jan 2014 thus expanding its product
offering to the field of Control Systems, Software and Services.
 In Sep 2014, Schneider launched the “better together” campaign,
which was later renamed “ bright industrial future.” The objective
was to address FUD and generate excitement amongst existing and
potential customers
 The campaign included a series of web ads and a video. All digital
assets included a call to action driving users to the external landing
page, which resulted in 50K additional unique visitors.
 Schneider also ran an Employee social media competition -
#BetterTogetherSE- to engage people and help spread the word.
 Employees were encouraged to “Use your personal twitter account
to show us what Better Together means to you”
 The campaign resulted in Euro 20,000+ donation for Habitat for
Humanity. Employees from 24 countries participated and there
was a significant increase of brand association after 90 days from
campaign launch
Source: Better Together: marketing lessons from a major acquisition, https://www.behance.net/gallery/24770589/Invensys
11
“You are all doing a great job at integrating Invensys
with Schneider and as a customer I feel very
motivated and excited for the future with this new
company.” Customer Quote

12. Promising ‘Better Healthcare Together’
Anthem and Cigna
 Healthcare insurer, Anthem’s offered to purchase its
rival, Cigna, for USD 54 billion in mid-2015
 Shareholder approval came in December 2015.
However, regulatory approval is pending
 The stated priority of the merger is to leverage scale
to provide consumers access to affordable health
coverage
 Soon after, Anthem and Cigna launched a website
www.betterhealthcaretogether.com
 The site is targeted at external stakeholders
including consumers, employers, policymakers,
providers, investors and brokers
 Apart from providing FAQs and outlining the
benefits to stakeholders, the site also tracks market
commentary and digital media coverage, which
endorses the merger
 Stakeholders can also sign up for regular updates
via email.
12
Source: www.betterhealthcaretogether.com

13. Key conclusions
 How people from two organizations communicate and collaborate with
each other can greatly impact the outcome of a merger
 Consistent and planned use of digital tools such as social media, web
2.0, communities, analytics, cloud and collaborative technology, can
help maximize benefits of M&A to the business
 Benefits of using digital tools are many, including targeted information
sharing, personalization, higher audience engagement, faster and better
collaboration
 Companies across sectors have used an array of digital tools to drive
successful PMI programs targeted at internal and external stakeholders
 Opportunities to learn from past experiences exist when developing a
PMI plan
13

14. Recommendations on aligning digital
strategy to key PMI outcomes
14
Key PMI
Outcomes
Synergy and value
capture
Readiness Integration organization Communication and
culture
The goal of capturing
synergies is to create
value—improve operating
margins, enhance the
balance sheet, and
provide shareholder value.
In post-merger scenarios,
the parties bring different
operational, cultural and
organizational differences
that managers must be
prepared to affront
Companies prepare for
mergers by setting up a
post-integration leadership
team consisting of cross-
functional members.
A well rehearsed
communications plan is
key in PMI: reaching both
internal and external
stakeholders
Digital strategy Analytical support Leverage knowledge
and learning
Enable collaboration Connect to engage
Use tools to simulate &
analyze scale, complexity,
and resources, needed to
successfully integrate and
realize expected synergies.
Provide access to tools that
help consolidate
information from people,
networks, and document
repositories
Provide tools and
technology to enable
seamless team
communication and
collaboration, globally
Develop and disseminate
content to align with the
objective and
stakeholder. Monitor
outcomes
Digital tools and
enablers
(not exhaustive)
• Big data and Business
Intelligence
• Predictive Analytics
• Online surveys
• Wikis
• Web-based communities
• Social networking
• Messengers
• Audio/Video conferencing
• Websites, podcasts, RSS
• Social networking –
blogs, Twitter etc.
A digital strategy can only enable a PMI plan and cannot be a substitute for it

15. 15
Thank You