David Braun

Author's posts

What Are Buyers Really Looking For in M&A?

What is the best way to position your company to be sold? I’ve often heard this question from owners and executives who aren’t quite ready to exit their business but who may be thinking about its future over the next five to 10 years. If you’re in this position, you’re wise to begin thinking about …

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Anheuser-Busch to Gain Access to Fast-Growing Markets through SABMiller Acquisition

SABMiller has agreed to Anheuser-Busch InBev’s $106 billion offer to acquire it. Together, they will form a global beer conglomerate with $64 billion in annual revenues that is estimated to make up 29% of global beer sales. The new company would be three times bigger than its next competitor, Heineken. Given that this is such …

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Nestle in Talks to Form JV with R&R Ice Cream

Sometimes, a business must first become smaller in order to grow. What I mean is that in order to focus on your strategic goals and respond to changes in demand and in the market, you may need to less of something. This includes stopping a specific product line, shedding customers, or even divesting of an entire …

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The Best Advice for M&A Success

In my over 20 years of pursing strategic, not-for-sale acquisitions for clients, the most important piece of advice I have is: be prepared. It may sound simple, but I cannot stress enough how critical preparation is to M&A success. This applies to every stage of the Roadmap to Acquisitions, our M&A process, from initial strategy …

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Keys to Successful Minority Investment

On yesterday’s M&A Express videocast, The Hidden Power of Minority Ownership, I mentioned Marcus Lemonis, a businessman who turns around struggling businesses in the CNBC show, the Profit. I’ve written about Lemonis before on the blog, and how he really prefers to use minority ownership so that the founders or original owners of the business continue to …

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Looking to Africa for Growth

What do you do when sales decline? If you’re Diageo, you move to Africa. Diageo, the maker of Smirnoff vodka and Johnnie Walker whisky, has been a global liquor powerhouse for years. However, the company’s growth has been slowing in its traditional markets of North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. In other words, …

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Successful Acquisitions Blog — New Look

If you’re reading this post, you’ve probably noticed the Successful Acquisitions Blog has a new look. You can still find the latest on middle-market M&A at our redesigned site. This mobile-friendly site features a fresh design that’s easy to read on all your devices. So now you can follow middle-market M&A whether you’re in the office …

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Survive or Thrive? J.C. Penney and the Jelly Fish Strategy

After facing near financial disaster, J.C. Penney is slowly recovering. Under former CEO Ron Johnson, the company struggled with a strategy that abandoned traditional sales. Now Marvin Ellison, J.C. Penney’s current CEO, is determined to rebuild by adopting a strategy of efficiency. Ellison explains, “We are taking a serious stance at making J.C. Penney a …

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How to Explore Adjacencies

Ikea has purchased a forest in order to have better control over their supply chain. Simply put, this move is backward integration – moving “back” or further up the supply chain, closer to raw materials and farther from end customers. It’s an interesting strategy from both the supply chain and cost perspective and also from …

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Employees vs. Contractors ─ A Due Diligence Challenge

It seems as though the employee vs. contractor issue is popping up all over the news. Virtual assistant startup company Zirtual just fired over 400 employees by email because the company couldn’t sustain its payroll once it converted contractors to employees. The Wall Street Journal has also highlighted the many startups that are now grappling …

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