Making Mergers and Acquisitions Work

Fabrizio Rutschmann is the Prysmian Group Human Resources & Organization Director. He graduated in Business Administration at Ca 'Foscari University in Venice, with a specialization at the SDA Bocconi in Milan. Fabrizio began his career in the Electrolux Group in 1989, holding various positions in the Human Resources function in "Appliances" and "Components" divisions. From 1998 to 1999 he worked in Unicredit as HR Director of one of the seven Group banks. In 1999 he joined the Tyre Division of the Pirelli Group as Human Resources Director of the Italian Division. In 2002 he moved to the Cables and Systems Division as Global Director of HR & Organization. The following year, he joined the Telecom Italia Group in Rio de Janeiro as Human Resources Director of the Latin American Region. In 2006 he returned to Pirelli as Group Director HR & Organization. He has been in his current position at Prysmian since June 2010. Markus Venzin is Full Professor of Global Strategy at the Management and Technology Department of Bocconi University. He sharpened his international academic profile as well as his managerial leadership skills as the Founder and long-time Director of the Master of Science in International Management program at Bocconi University, where he has served as Director of the Strategy and Entrepreneurship Department and, subsequently, Director of the "Claudio Dematté" Research Division at SDA Bocconi. He participated in numerous international conferences and has held visiting positions and teaching assignments at the Università della Svizzera Italiana (Lugano), University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), Fudan University (Shanghai), Copenhagen Business School, Essec (Paris), ESADE (Barcelona), WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, University of St. Gallen, SMU (Singapore), FGV (Sao Paulo), Stockholm School of Economics, USC (Columbia). Markus obtained his PhD in Strategy and Organization from the University of St. Gallen and has since worked as a strategist in the manufacturing industry. He also founded his own consulting firm, and serves as a member of supervisory and advisory boards of several multinational firms.Matteo Vizzaccaro serves as SDA Bocconi Assistant Professor – Accounting, Control, Corporate and Real Estate Finance Department. Prior to joining SDA Bocconi, he worked as a consultant in an accounting firm, mainly dealing with themes related to M&A, firm evaluation and business planning. He was Research Fellow at CReSV (Center for Sustainability and Value Creation of Università Commerciale L. Bocconi). He has published on M&A, internationalization, business restructuring and entrepreneurship in Italy. Matteo also teaches Financial Markets and Institutions at Bocconi University. He is obtaining his PhD in Management and Innovation from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan.

• 1. INTRODUCTION2. STRATEGY3. TARGET SELECTION4. DUE DILIGENCE5. NEGOTIATION AND DEAL CLOSING6. POST-MERGER INTEGRATION

Two professors at Bocconi University and an employee of Prysmian describe the world’s largest cable manufacturer’s experiences acquiring smaller companies and their success integrating the companies into the larger corporate strategy and culture. Their merger and acquisition process model helps corporations define a value-generating strategy, screen candidates, conduct negotiations, close the deal, and support post-merger integration. Examples of other companies’ acquisition attempts illustrate lessons learned about target selection, due diligence, and merger implementation.