Practice · Post-merger integration
Post-merger integration
Post-merger integration is where a deal is won or lost. It is the disciplined work of bringing two organisations together — operating model, people, processes, systems and data — so the value in the business case is actually realised.
Strategys supplies the senior PMI leads who run that integration — as the integration lead, embedded specialists or a full team — so the deal delivers instead of drifting.
Who it's for
For acquirers who need the deal to deliver
Integration is hardest exactly where the value is biggest — regulated businesses, cross-border deals, buy-and-build platforms. The common need is discipline: a real integration office, a prioritised synergy plan, and both businesses kept running throughout.
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Corporate acquirers
Companies integrating an acquisition where the value case depends on getting operations, systems and people together without breaking the running business.
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Private-equity-backed deals
PE portfolio companies and buy-and-build platforms that need fast, disciplined integration to hit the value-creation plan.
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Financial-services deals
Banks and insurers integrating in a regulated setting, where data, systems and controls have to come together without a compliance gap.
How we work
From Day 1 readiness to realised value
We run the integration from a single management office, with synergies prioritised and tracked to money. Where systems and data are the heavy part of bringing the businesses together, we draw on our data and Databricks and PMO and delivery practices to keep it controlled.
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Integration strategy and Day 1 readiness
Agree the integration thesis, the operating-model target and what has to be true on Day 1, so the first day protects value rather than putting it at risk.
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Stand up the integration office
Establish the integration management office (IMO) — governance, workstreams, cadence and reporting — as the single place the whole integration is steered from.
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Prioritise the synergies
Turn the value case into a sequenced plan of concrete initiatives, prioritised by value and risk, with owners and milestones that can be tracked to money.
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Integrate functions and systems
Bring the organisations together — people, processes, and the systems and data behind them — in a controlled sequence that keeps both businesses running.
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Stabilise and realise value
Bed in the new operating model, close out the integration, and track that the synergies land — then hand over so the combined organisation owns the result.
Experience
Senior integration leads, not first-timers
Every consultant we place on an integration is a senior specialist who has run PMI before. We work across financial services, life sciences, the public sector and manufacturing, with senior specialists who bring both Danish and international experience of cross-border deals.
FAQ
Post-merger integration — questions we get
What is post-merger integration?
Post-merger integration (PMI) is the work of combining two organisations after a merger or acquisition so the deal actually delivers its value. It covers the operating model, people, processes, systems and data, run through an integration management office from Day 1 readiness to the point where the synergies are realised.
What does an integration management office (IMO) do?
The IMO is the control centre for the integration. It sets the governance, breaks the integration into workstreams, runs the cadence and reporting, manages dependencies and risk, and tracks synergy initiatives to money — so leadership can steer the whole thing from one place instead of many disconnected efforts.
Why do so many mergers fail to deliver their value?
Value leaks when integration is under-planned, under-resourced or left to run itself: Day 1 is chaotic, synergies are vague, key people leave, and systems and data never really come together. Disciplined integration — a real IMO, a prioritised synergy plan, and controlled sequencing — is what turns the deal thesis into realised value.
How do you integrate systems and data without breaking the business?
By sequencing the technical integration carefully and keeping both businesses running throughout, rather than a big-bang cut-over. Where systems and data are the heavy part of the integration we draw on our data and Databricks practice, so the combined data estate is brought together in a governed, auditable way.
Do you work on financial-services and cross-border deals?
Yes. Financial-services integrations add regulatory and data-governance constraints that have to be handled from Day 1, and Nordic deals are frequently cross-border. Our consultants work across the Nordics and internationally, in Danish, English, Arabic, Urdu and other European languages.
Can Strategys supply a single PMI lead or the whole integration team?
Both. We supply a senior PMI lead to run the integration, embedded specialists to strengthen your team, or a full integration team, depending on the size and pace of the deal.
Integrating an acquisition?
Tell us about the deal and the value case behind it. We will talk you through how a disciplined, IMO-led integration would protect and realise it.
Contact us