Emotional side of M&As often overlooked

ifa.com

The M&A market for advice and the surrounding business infrastructure is very active. However, behind the scenes these transactions are often taxing, slow and highly emotional processes for all those involved. “It is stressful. It’s a life-changing moment for potentially both parties, and with that stress, can often be the emotions are evoked,” founder and director of Forte Asset Solutions, Stephen Prendeville, told ifa. “When someone tells you that your baby is ugly, you are only going to have an emotional response.”  

For Prendeville, a business consultancy specialist often in the middle of these transactions, one of the biggest emotional tolls he sees is “deal fatigue”, or a growing sense of tiredness and even apathy in the often year long process of an M&A. “All of a sudden you’re going backwards and forwards on negotiation, it’s highly stressful environment for both buyer and the seller,” he said. “This is where deal fatigue also comes into play. We know we’re dealing with the right people, but all of a sudden we can start fixating on the minutiae rather than the overall objective, which is ensuring that the clients, staff and the business as a whole are protected. That’s the deal fatigue — it’s long and it’s hard.”

The rest of this article can be found at ifa.com.au.