Leading Post Merger Integration for Iconic Food Brands

A major food manufacturer had just agreed to acquire two iconic brands.  The brands are so well regarded that over 70% of middle-class consumers had consumed the brand at some point in their life.  The company knew that it needed help to successfully navigate the acquisition and the activities necessary to integrate the acquisition into its portfolio of products.  The company asked Stonehill to lead the effort.

Upon engagement, Stonehill worked to quickly stand up an Integration Management Office (IMO). The IMO was a central authority that brought together select members from the client M&A team, operational management, and the selling conglomerate.  Once the IMO was established, Stonehill rapidly identified the activities that were needed to transition the brands and worked with the individual members of the IMO to create charters for each.  The charters acted as mini project plans and included everything from transition of UPC codes to relocation of employees.

Stonehill managed the IMO holding weekly cadence meetings for initiatives and monthly steering committee meetings to track progress. In cases where the IMO was lacking bandwidth or skillsets, Stonehill augmented the team.  A key example of this was the need for identifying real estate and migrating a test kitchen.

The entire engagement was completed within six months and the acquisition was deemed a success. The selling company praised the process and highlighted Stonehill's effective strategic guidance and execution in this intricate merger scenario.  Revenues associated with the acquired brands exceeded expectations and did not incur any issues during the transition.