Deals that look great on spreadsheets can still hit severe obstacles when companies struggle to merge their cultures and work together effectively. With global deal value hitting a record high of $5.9 trillion in 2021, the business world is sure to hear more about corporate culture clashes that lead to acrimonious breakups.
One of the highest-profile recent examples of how cultural dissonance can bog down mergers is Amazon’s takeover of Whole Foods. The online retail giant’s obsession with data-driven standardization and low costs clashed with the grocer’s values of personal touch and emphasis on quality and health.
With a combined 30 years of experience on mergers worth billions of dollars in multiple countries, we’ve seen time and again how a lack of cultural integration weakens and in some cases dooms M&A deals.
