Acquisition Narrative
Two paths, one story.
Who it’s for
The CEO or deal team of an acquirer, from LOI through the first ninety days after close. The communications side of M&A, owned in one place.
What goes wrong
The deal deck has an integration narrative. The two companies don’t.
Customers hear about it from a competitor first. The soon-to-be acquired team hears a rumor before they hear from anyone with a title. The press has three versions from three executives.
Six months later, the deal is fine on paper, but nobody can say in one sentence why it happened.
What I do
One story, told the right way to employees, customers, and press — and a board and leadership team that can still tell that story three months later.
I report to the acquirer’s CEO and work closely with leadership of both companies. That seam is usually where the story breaks.
When
- LOIUnder NDA, with the people who know: the announcement gets built. One story, honed for each key audience.
- SigningThe deal goes public. Employees, customers, and press hear it the same day, the same way, before rumors get traction.
- CloseDay one as a single company. The story turns operational: what changes for customers and employees – and what stays the same.
- Day 90The story has survived contact. A board member, an executive, and a customer can each say in one sentence why the deal happened.
Fixed-scope engagement, from LOI through the first quarter after close.
Why me
I ran communications at EdgeCast from pre-launch through its $400M sale to Verizon, then ran it inside Verizon through the integration.
Most recently I led a strategic reset at Colony that included acquiring a key SaaS vendor and turning two stories into one.