Ahern & Associates, Ltd. is a management consulting company specializing in the trucking industry and transportation industries. 100% of our practice is involved in:
In reference to trucking acquisitions, a Merger or Acquisition often represents a defining moment in a company's development. In spite of the importance of these transactions, the overall track record for business combinations has not been a resounding success.
Why do so many highly visible transactions fail to meet their stated objective of increasing shareholder value? How can management institute an acquisition program that avoids most common merger & acquisition mistakes?
Along with the reasons for the mediocre record of business combinations, a fairly common mistake is the trucking company buyer failing to establish a compelling strategic basis for making the acquisition.
Typically, acquisitions have a significant impact on the overall profitability and financial health of a corporation. Therefore, such transactions deserve the same thoughtful planning and execution as the introduction of a major new product, the building of a new plant, and/or the purchase of a major piece of equipment.
Ahern can assist a company in establishing those goals and objectives, so their acquisition will be a success instead of a failure.
With a proactive acquisition program, a trucking company is far more likely to avoid costly mistakes and will make business combinations contribute to the creation of shareholder wealth. Such a program, also gives management considerably greater control over the company's destiny.
An acquisition program should be viewed as a dynamic process. Objectives and goals can be modified in response to events as to the availability of relevant data, but actions are not dependent on those events. For a program to succeed, it must be proactive, yet under control. A successful acquisition program must also be an integral part of a company's overall strategic plan. Acquisitions can support a number of important strategic goals, including growth, diversification, product or market expansion and access to technology. Most failed acquisitions result from committing opportunity to drive strategy, rather than integrating acquisition decisions into an overall corporate strategy.
Due to Ahern's extensive experience, Ahern can assist in establishing a comprehensive acquisition program that will include:
Since Ahern & Associates is not a business broker or Investment Banker
However, what Ahern does, is create a market for a customer that has a specific need. 95% of the trucking companies that Ahern contacts are not in the market to sell.
The value of Ahern & Associates is most often realized when the deal starts to fall apart. In most trucking acquisitions, the deal falls apart 6 or 7 times before our skilled consultants are able to provide alternatives to the buyer and seller that will solve and achieve both parties' goals and objectives. All of the above are integral parts of a successful acquisition program.
Considerations when looking at an acquisition:
For further information, please feel free to review Ahern's actual case studies in reference to the transaction process. If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to Contact Us.
