M&A Information Technology Best Practices

Appendix A

M&A IT Playbook Overview

Joseph JoyShalva NolenSimon SinghNikhil Uppal

Chief information officers (CIOs) and chief technology officers (CTOs) in organizations anticipating multiple merger, acquisition, and/or divestiture transactions can proactively prepare to execute the necessary information technology (IT) activities by developing an M&A IT playbook. An M&A IT playbook is a prescriptive guide documenting the tasks needed to effectively and efficiently execute an IT integration or divesture based on the parameters of the deal. The M&A IT playbook does not look to answer every single question associated with IT during a deal; rather, it is intended as a practical guide that can be adapted to address most integration or divesture situations across the M&A lifecycle, including due diligence, Day 1, and Day 2. Since technology does not operate in a vacuum, ideally the organization would develop an M&A playbook, and the M&A IT playbook would align to the overall corporate strategy.

The M&A IT playbook is typically tailored to the specific aspects of each organization and provides answers to common questions such as:

• Who does it?
• When does it start?
• What are the dependencies?
• How long might it take (if appropriate)?

Typically, an M&A IT playbook is intended to be mandatory reading for IT senior management and recommended reading for all IT team members involved with M&A transactions.

Scope of the Playbook

The scope of the playbooks can vary from concentrating on a particular ...