Pensions and employee benefits can have a significant impact on whether a merger and acquisition (M&A) fails or succeeds, from both a financial and a human resources (HR) perspective. As the leading provider of employee benefit consulting services to today’s global organisations, Willis Towers Watson can help you to identify and quantify the financial exposures, guide you through the HR challenges, and deliver tailored solutions to ensure a successful outcome.
At every stage of the M&A process, we’ll help you to:
- Identify and analyse the organisation’s benefit programmes, including cash and accounting costs
- Gain clarity on the financial, HR and regulatory risks, and ensure compliance
- Manage the exposures, by providing market-leading insights and solutions
- Consider pensions and benefits holistically, alongside wider HR and business risks, by leveraging our broader M&A capabilities
- Develop and deliver an effective benefits integration strategy, to help you exceed the M&A goals set for both the short and long term
Our services
Our experts will work with you to firstly understand the goals and drivers for your deal.
Armed with this key information, we’ll help you to identify and manage the financial and HR risks and challenges. In some cases, we’re able to commence this process before due diligence formally begins, by analysing publicly available information.
We’ll work with you to quantify and mitigate the risks identified, including support with negotiating deal terms. We will also plan ahead to help you to prepare for day one and beyond, as well as identifying opportunities for synergies available from pooling or rationalising benefit programmes.
By preparing side-by-side analysis, we’ll also identify potential harmonisation costs and benchmark benefit programmes against competitive norms and best practices using our proprietary database.
From advising on over 2,000 deals each year in over 120 countries, we can provide essential country- and industry-specific expertise and insights. We’re also able to ensure global consistency and coordination throughout the M&A process – which can be essential given the timescales and complexity often involved.
Importantly, we recognise that pensions and benefits are often a long-term commitment. We’ll provide solutions not just for today but also for the future, to help you achieve long-term success from M&A.
