Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) remain a compelling growth strategy for businesses, but the sobering reality is that most deals fail—70-75% according to a long-term evaluation by Fortune. In fact, the study concluded that companies face a “reverse learning curve” with the M&A failure rate increasing over time. Common missteps include:
- Inaccurate valuation
- Failure to extract value from the integration process
- Culture clashes
- High cost of recovery
- Failure to assess alternatives
Mergers, acquisitions, and integrations come with their own challenges—and those project-specific obstacles can make them even more complex. Leadership and management disruptions, loss of key talent, overextended internal stakeholders, cultural differences, and resistance to change all create significant roadblocks. Even experienced leaders can overlook the nuances of an unfamiliar market or overestimate the project’s potential. Consulting firm engagements often continue years into an integration, resulting in pricey junior resources directing high-impact workstreams. It’s easy to underestimate the resources needed for a smooth transition, which is why having the right people in place can streamline success.
Given the evolving nature of global markets, the demand for flexible, specialized freelance M&A expertise is growing.
The 2025 M&A Landscape
M&A activity started to rebound in late 2023 and continued to gain momentum in 2024, driven by strategic consolidations as companies seek to diversify revenue streams and mitigate economic volatility. Technology-first deals are also on the rise, with AI and digital transformation prompting tech firms to absorb innovative startups to stay competitive. Private equity firms are leveraging high liquidity to fund acquisitions, focusing on high-growth sectors like healthcare, fintech, and renewable energy. Meanwhile, regulatory scrutiny is increasing, with stricter antitrust laws shaping deal structures and requiring more thorough due diligence.
As such, it’s reasonable to expect the increased demand for M&A specialists to hold true.
What Are the Key Drivers Behind M&A Deals?
Executives pursue M&A for various reasons that stand the test of time:
- Market Expansion: Companies acquire businesses to enter new markets or bolster their existing presence.
- Competitive Edge: Larger firms buy smaller, innovative competitors to eliminate threats and enhance capabilities.
- Cost Efficiencies: Mergers enable cost reductions through economies of scale, particularly in industries like pharmaceuticals and manufacturing.
However, the success of an M&A deal hinges on seamless integration and a well-executed strategy—where external expertise plays a pivotal role.
Steps for M&A Success
Considering the high percentage of M&A deals that fail, companies must adopt a proactive approach by supporting the process with the resources necessary to objectively examine every angle, maintain momentum, and make smart decisions along the way. That’s why companies rely on freelance M&A advisors to bring essential experience needed at each stage of the project. With a unique combination of classical strategy training and practical executive experience, freelance M&A consultants can help with:
Planning
When a company wants to grow inorganically, it helps to have a seasoned professional who can help identify potential acquisition targets or explore the ways in which it can merge with companies where synergies already exist. An outside perspective offers the objective insight needed to create a foundation for a smart strategy.
Due Diligence
When it comes time for due diligence, the competitive bid process requires decisions to be made quickly. Companies look to independent M&A specialists for support so that they don’t lose time or make costly mistakes in their haste.
Integration Execution
Even after the details of a merger or acquisition are finalized and all the papers are signed, the toughest challenge still lies ahead. The process of integrating two companies is extremely complex, and few companies have the ability to navigate it using only in-house resources. A freelance mergers and acquisitions expert can add agile, cost-effective support to smooth the transition, plugging into existing workflows while adjusting more readily to broader team structures and culture.
Throughout the process, it’s important to fully understand where the value of the merged or acquired business resides. This should drive the strategy as well as the integration. For example, if the business model is what you’re after, then consider how it will work in tandem with your current offering. If market dominance is your goal, then it’s likely you’ll want to keep the resources and leave the business model behind.
How Freelance M&A Consultants Contribute
Successful M&A deals require meticulous planning and due diligence, culture alignment, operational and IT integration, communication and change management; Often internal stakeholders and leaders can’t expend the bandwidth necessary to maintain day-to-day operations while seizing opportunities for growth.
On-demand talent provides comprehensive support throughout each phase of a merger or acquisition, ensuring organizations have the right expertise at the right time. Common types of integration engagements include:
- Interim leadership to backfill vacant, mission-critical roles or relieve an internal employee performing multiple roles
- Surge capacity for deal teams
- Transformation leaders and project and program managers to monitor progress, align stakeholders, refine strategy, lead workstreams, and manage communications
- Subject matter experts with specialized knowledge and specific skillsets to oversee tech and data integrations and address finance needs
- Change managers to maintain alignment across teams, drive standardization, and train and upskill employees
- Process optimization experts to eliminate inefficiencies and implement continuous improvement measures
- Classically trained consultants to support strategic priorities or bridge a hand-off from a large strategy firm
When it comes to resourcing, you have all the options.
Equip your team right with access to BTG’s pool of thousands of McKinsey, Bain, EY, Deloitte, Booz, BCG, Accenture, and Capgemini alumni—and more than 2,000 alumni of specialty and boutique consulting firms. Roughly 51% of our talent has both consulting and operational experience, and by combining on-the-ground executive experience with extensive technical expertise, they are able to deliver a pragmatic view that goes beyond the usual abstract analyses. They can ramp up or down as needed, without adding the significant overhead and risk of a permanent hire. Here are just a few examples of past successes:
Navigating a Carve-Out Acquisition
When a leading industrial company’s internal acquisition team faced this highly specific kind of acquisition for the first time, its board of directors turned to BTG to locate an experienced freelance M&A consultant to serve as a neutral advisor. He worked quickly and discreetly to anticipate problems, structure transition services, analyze options, and more. Read more»
Strategic Due Diligence
When a global private equity firm realized that traditional consulting firms couldn’t deliver the deep technical knowledge its operating partners required, it engaged BTG to enhance due diligence across its portfolio. The firm now turns to BTG for on-demand access to independent specialists with deep operational and geographical expertise. Read more»
Interim HR Leader to Drive Process and Culture Integration
When a private-equity-backed provider of labor market data acquired its biggest competitor, leaders knew they would face a challenge in their integration efforts. Not only did they need to develop new processes and policies for the now twice-as-large workforce, the two companies also held very different cultures that would need to be bridged to leverage their respective strengths. Read more»
The Future of M&A
As M&A activity continues to accelerate, companies must embrace a more agile, expert-driven approach to mitigate risks and ensure deal success. Hiring merger integration consultants ensures that organizations obtain the deep expertise and flexibility required to navigate these complex transactions effectively. If you’re currently considering M&A, don’t go it alone. BTG can help you join the other companies that have found success by tapping M&A integration specialists for support. These experts are readily available to provide insights and support to make M&A deal work a win-win for all. Interested in learning more? Let’s discuss how our experts can help your organization maximize value from your next transaction.
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