Conversations with Corporate Chieftains – Making Acquisitions Work, Sharing Experiences, Sanjay...

Making Acquisitions Work Sanjay Dhawan, President

NASSCOM 2008: India Leadership Forum

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April 13, 2023NASSCOM 2008 | CONFIDENTIAL 2008

Aricent

We understand the dynamics of

buying and selling.

We understand how to integrate

acquisitions.

We understand the dynamics of being bought and sold.

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Aricent M&A history: 2004-2007

2004 2005 2006

HughesDeccanet

Avnisoft

FutureSoft

FlextronicsSoftwareSystems

(FSS)

Emuzed

Brain Blue

FSS

Azisa (South Africa)Azisa

frog design

frog design

Aricent

2007

Flextronics International ownershipKKR & Sequoia

ownership

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Aricent Recent M&A Activity

In late 2007 early 2008, Aricent acquired• a Nokia Siemens Networks team

» 2G, 2.5G, 3G wireless» 100+ engineers» Southwood, UK

• DataLinx» Communications service provider solutions» 400+ consultants, developers and engineers» Tarrytown, New York, USA

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Why?

It was driven by

industry changes &

customer demand.

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The communications industry has evolved

Industry demanded a pure-play communications software company with superior skills, speed and scale.

So we built Aricent.

Yesterday: simplicity.

dial.ring.talk.

Today: complexity.

dial.click.channel.connect.download.record.talk.send.view.broadcast.

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Why acquire?

Acquiring companies allowed us to enhance our

portfolio rapidly and comprehensively.

» Goal 1: offer a complete spectrum of

communications software services and products.

» Goal 2: accelerate revenue growth inorganically in

nascent sectors.

» Goal 3: give clients (equipment OEMs, device

OEMs, and service providers) a one-stop-shop for

increasingly complex, interconnected solutions.

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Why be sold?

Becoming independent under the majority ownership of

Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts Co. (KKR) & Sequoia Capital

» gave us the complete independence to work with all

equipment OEMs, device OEMs and service providers &

» gave us the time and flexibility to fully integrate all the

software companies into a single entity, in preparation for

Aricent’s next stages of growth

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The Three P’s

Aricent’s “Three P’s”

of successful M&A:

• Planning

• People

• Processes

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1. Planning

Create, empower and unleash a clearly defined transition team

(from both sides of the transaction) ASAP!

» The team will accelerate the integration process.

» The team will highlights portfolio, cultural, and organizational

focus areas early.

» Have one or two (but no more) executives who are responsible to

senior management for all planning and execution.

Initiate these teams as soon as the contractual process allows.

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2. People

From the buyer’s side, you must immediately seek out both the

formal and informal leaders within the acquired company and spend

significant time with them before and after the transaction closes.

» These people are critical to the long-term success of the integration

» The informal leaders can be excellent sources of the acquired

company’s general opinions AND be a conduit for informal

communications to teams at the purchased company.

» Discussions with formal and informal leaders should be frequent and

open: build trust.

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3. Processes

The acquirer must be open-minded and prepared to evolve its

processes with each new acquisition.

» Sometimes the buying company has better processes.

» Sometimes the purchased company has better processes.

» Sometimes a combination of processes works best.

Never assume that the bigger company’s approach is

automatically better.

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Aricent: The Art of M&A

• Before, during and after a transaction: there’s no such thing as too much planning.

• Successful integration after M&A requires “over communication” with teams.

• Bigger is not necessarily better: process change applies to the buyer, too.

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Thank you.

Conversations with Corporate Chieftains – Making Acquisitions Work, Sharing Experiences, Sanjay...

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