Too many times, we've seen M&A used as a strategy to grow businesses. But in fact, M&A is not a strategy, it's a tool that organizations use to achieve their corporate strategy. 

But once you understand your true north, having an M&A strategy is just as important. 

In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Matt Arsenault, VP of Corporate Development at Jamf, talks about how to formulate an M&A strategy.

You will also learn:

- The importance of an M&A strategy 

- How socializing your strategy can help you source deals

- Creating your own M&A scorecard

- Challenges in developing your M&A strategy

- Lessons learned along the way

To join our network of M&A practitioners and sign up for our newsletter, go to mascience.com.

The importance of integration has never been more prevalent. And standing up a dedicated function to oversee integration is becoming more of a necessity as a company grows more prominent. 

Having an integration management office (IMO) might be a good fit for your company. But how do you stand up to such a function? 

In this episode of the M&A Science podcast, Ian Burk, EVP of integration at Upland Software, talks about how to stand up an IMO. 

You will also learn:

-What is the primary role of an integration management office

-The actual steps in standing up an IMO

-How to build playbooks 

-Best practices during integration 

-The importance of executive sponsorship

To join our network of M&A practitioners and sign up for our newsletter, go to mascience.com.

From zero revenue to a billion-dollar market capitalization, Upland Software has exponentially grown its business through acquisitions.  How did Upland Software do it? 

In this episode of the M&A Science podcast, Austin Woody, Senior Vice President of M&A and Corporate Development at Upland Software, explains how to grow purely on acquisitions. 

You will also learn:

- How Upland Software source deals

- Standing up an M&A function

- What their integration process looks like

- How they look at culture

- Biggest lessons learned

To join our network of M&A practitioners and sign up for our newsletter, go to mascience.com.

With so many companies out there, how do you know who to approach as a potential M&A target? Having a solid origination process helps teams save time and money by enabling them to target the right entities.  In this episode of the M&A science podcast, Scott Hile, Senior Director, Corporate Strategy & Development at Enviva, talks about how to tie deal origination to strategy development. 

Things you will learn in this episode:

- How to funnel a target list

- Importance of trust during outreach

- Tools that can help source deals

- How to do cold outreach

- Effective messaging during first interactions with a target company

To join our network of M&A practitioners and sign up for our newsletter, go to mascience.com.