11/2026

M&A REVIEW UK 02/2026

VALUE CREATION VS INTEGRATION

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M&A Review UK Articles M&A

Integration is not value creation: Perhaps M&A has been asking the wrong post-deal question

For decades, post-merger integration has dominated how dealmakers think about the period after signing. Florian Bauer and Alexander Griesmeier argue that integration and value creation are not the same thing – and that M&A may have been asking the wrong post-deal question.

M&A Review UK Articles M&A

M&A FOMO! How Social Media Shape M&A Decisions

Does social media shape which targets companies pursue? Christoph Brielmaier, Moritz Reis, Martin Friesl and Roland Pfister on the M&A fear of missing out.

M&A Review UK Articles M&A

You don’t have to integrate to succeed: How Halma creates value through autonomy, accountability and disciplined acquisition

Halma does not start with integration. M&A Director Michael O’Neill explains how the FTSE 100 group creates value through autonomy, accountability and disciplined acquisition.

M&A Review UK Articles M&A

Arming Europe: Cross-Border M&A and the Making of a Continental Defence Industry

Europe’s defence industry faces its biggest restructuring since the Cold War. Max Alles and Nicole Englisch (Clifford Chance) on the role of cross-border M&A.

M&A Review UK Articles M&A

The Recent Deals Shaping UK M&A

UK M&A has become a story of fewer but bigger deals. Erik Pavlovskyy and Jai Chauhan (Bristol M&A Society) review three recent transactions that capture the trends.

M&A Review UK Articles M&A

The Personal Dimension of M&A Advisory: Why good advisers manage more than the transaction

M&A is a people business – also while the deal is still live. Roman Barwinski shows why good advisers manage uncertainty, mistrust and pressure, not just the transaction.

M&A Review UK Articles M&A

Deals Under Duress: Healthcare M&A in an Age of Tariffs and Trade Barriers

Tariffs, trade restrictions and supply-chain bottlenecks have put healthcare and life sciences through a stress test. Clifford Chance on what this means for M&A.

M&A Review UK Articles M&A

Living legacy: Organisational history as integration tool

Lara Pecis and Bingbing Ge show how organisational history can become a deliberate tool for integrating acquired firms.

M&A Review UK Articles M&A

Leading Through Uncertainty: What Really Happens During M&A Integration

Deal models create a sense of certainty. Sam French looks at what really happens during integration, when leaders must decide with incomplete information.

M&A Review UK Articles M&A

Reinventing M&A: How AI Reshapes the M&A Lifecycle Today and Tomorrow

Michael Klawon, Alexander Herzfeldt, Sebastian Floerecke and Christoph Ertl map how AI reshapes the M&A lifecycle – today and tomorrow.

M&A Review UK Articles M&A

Agility Needs Direction: Why Organisations Must Balance Flexibility with Strategic Purpose

Agility is everywhere – but what does it actually do for an organisation? Florian Bauer and Simon Quinn show why flexibility without strategic purpose falls short.

M&A Review UK Articles M&A

Integrate the scale. Protect the difference. How Imperial Brands uses M&A to transform its portfolio without standardising away what it buys

Imperial Brands acquires entrepreneurial companies to build scale in smoke-free products. Julia Lefèvre explains how the group scales what needs scale – and protects what made the acquired businesses distinctive.