Checking the Compass on the M&A Trail 

2 Min. Read

Exploring Expectations vs. Results After Acquiring a Company. 

At A Glance 

Company Type: Public, Global 

Industry: Artificial Intelligence 

Solution Area: Strategic Projects, Internal Audit, M&A 

About The Client 

A global technology company operating in 130 countries with 800 employees and $540 million in revenue.    

A strategic acquisition gave the company access to promising software from a U.S. business that could accelerate growth and diversify their customer base.   

18 months later, it was time to see if the initial expectations aligned with reality. 

Challenge 

Sometimes you need to take a look back in order to move ahead. A year and a half after a key acquisition, this AI company reached out to ZRG for a fresh take. Had they done their due diligence properly? Was the valuation sound? Did the deal live up to  

its premise? The answers could help the company develop lessons learned for future transactions — and implement any changes for ensuring current integration efforts stayed on course. 

Solution 

• A team of financial consultants with deep tech industry experience, coupled with extensive merger and acquisition expertise, combed through the processes and materials surrounding the deal and financial results reported so far. 
• Under a tight timeline, the consultants interviewed company leaders, to fully understand whether initial expectations and assumptions matched what was happening. 
• By splitting the assessment into key areas of focus — due diligence, valuation, strategic objectives, human capital and project management — ZRG offered the company a flexible solution and comprehensive way to inform the board of directors at their next meeting. 

Results 

• Fresh perspective on how the company could better understand the acquisition’s true financial performance. 
• Insightful advice and clarity on the strengths and gaps of the company’s M&A evaluations and processes. 
• Comprehensive audit report provided the board with actionable recommendations they could act on now and for future M&A deals. 
• Succinct dashboard zeroed in on key findings and recommendations. 
• In-depth understanding of how company insiders had adjusted — or not — to the deal. 

“We asked ZRG to take a hard look at our recent acquisition. They took the time to understand what we wanted upfront, assembled a highly experienced team who worked well with our internal resources and identified useful insights, some of which surprised us, that we could implement now and for future acquisitions.” 

- Head Of Audit and Risk