Coming Together: The Keys to a Successful Acquisition

In our era of ever-rising competition in the quest for business advantage and market share, corporate acquisition activity remains near an all-time high. Technology represents the busiest sector for M&A, with over $260 billion of tech deals announced globally so far this year, according to Dealogic data.

With no shortage of acquisition activity in our space, we have seen both successes and failures. While there many variables that come into play, a Harvard Business Review article suggests, "So many acquisitions fall short of expectations because executives incorrectly match candidates to the strategic purpose of the deal." It also states that "The success or failure of an acquisition lies in the nuts and bolts of integration."

[highlight]The Power of Alignment[/highlight]

At Aptos, our attention to these challenges has helped us to exceed our expectations with both of the acquisitions we have made since the fall of 2014 (then under the Epicor banner).

When we sought to add advanced analytics and digital commerce capabilities to our industry-leading retail solutions suite, we looked for companies that not only offered compatible products but that also shared our business objectives and values. They were companies that, like our own, were focused on growth and deeply focused on client success as the best way to achieve it.

At the same time, we were careful to select companies whose customers and people were fully aligned with ours. We were clear in our intentions to bring them on board not just as resources but as members of our corporate family from and with whom we learn and share, within a well-defined culture and business approach. And once the deals were completed, we worked to bring the teams together in an atmosphere of stability, support and open communication.

[highlight]Our Next Success Story: BT Expedite[/highlight]

Today, we are preparing our third acquisition in exactly the same ways. We recently announced our plan to acquire BT Expedite, the retail specialty division of British Telecom, and the long-standing exclusive reseller of Aptos solutions in the UK and Ireland. (Read the press release here.) The clear synergies between these two companies—our shared objectives, customers, capabilities and long-term vision—make this development an ideal fit. By joining forces we will:

• Bring nearly 100 additional leading retailers into the Aptos customer base, all of whom are squarely positioned within the verticals we serve
• Introduce additional solutions (e.g. analytics, merchandising, order management and our singular commerce Cloud platform) to these and other European retailers while gaining extensive new business opportunities
• Establish a strong, direct presence in the UK and European markets, to deliver important new capabilities to both European and North American retailers seeking to expand internationally
• Enable the UK team to grow within an agile, market-leading company focused 100% on retail, and with more direct influence on the development of the products their clients already depend on, and on new solutions that will carry them forward to higher levels of performance
• Reinforce our strengths as an organization united by a commitment to serve with a pioneering spirit, authenticity and a strong sense of community—the enterprise culture we know as "The Aptos Way."

As this acquisition is the natural progression of a decade-long partnership, and considering the mainstay of BT Expedite's business was focused on selling and servicing Aptos solutions, the integration of these companies offers tremendous value, without the friction or distraction that is common in other acquisitions.

With all of this, I'm pleased to say that, subject to customary closing conditions, we are moving forward with BT Expedite on the most solid, common ground. It gives my colleagues and me every reason to be confident that this third acquisition will be, like the previous two, a genuine win/win venture that delivers rapid and substantial value to our collective retail clients, our expanded team of colleagues, and all of our corporate stakeholders.