M&A Science

Christian Hassold, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships at Wpromote x Giant Spoon
Christian has been on both sides of M&A as a serial founder and corporate development leader. In this episode, Christian shares his hard-earned lessons about culture as the ultimate deal-breaker in M&A. He breaks down the subtle red flags that founders miss when evaluating acquisition targets, explains why he interviews employees before talking to investors, and shares the fascinating story of acquiring a competitor that was shutting down—where culture assessment made all the difference. Christian also introduces his 5-pillar lean M&A framework and explains why "commit to close" doesn't mean ignoring red flags, but rather cataloging them until you have enough evidence that culture fit is fundamentally broken.
 
Things You'll Learn
Why interviewing employees before investors reveals the real culture story—and the specific red flags that signal a deal should stop
 How to distinguish between fixable cultural friction and fundamental misalignment that will crater post-merger integration
The "commit to close" philosophy that balances conviction with cataloging red flags—knowing when three strikes means you walk away
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Buyer-Led M&A™: The Framework is Now Available
Traditional M&A is broken. Buyers chase auctions. Sellers control the process. It's reactive, inefficient, and exhausting.
After 300+ episodes of M&A Science, I've taken insights from the world's top corp dev leaders and distilled them into a practical framework for taking control of your M&A pipeline—how to source deals directly, build relationships earlier, and stop being auction-chasers.
If you'd like to build a proactive M&A program that founders actually want to engage with, you can grab your copy. https://dealroom.net/resources/ebooks/buyer-led-m-a-tm-the-framework
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This episode is sponsored by DealRoom! Turn your chaos into control. Tired of chasing updates across spreadsheets and email threads? Discover how DealRoom helps corporate development teams bring order to M&A. 
👉 Learn how you can run a repeatable, buyer-led process at DealRoom.net
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Episode Chapters
[00:03:00] The Entrepreneur's Path to Corporate Development – How building and selling three companies shaped Christian's view on culture fit
[00:10:30] Three Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Deal – Why assuming nothing about culture and motivations is critical [00:13:00] The Lean M&A Framework for Culture Assessment – Five pillars that put people and culture at the center of deal evaluation
[00:16:00] Deep Dive the Business: Beyond Numbers – Why talking to customers and employees reveals culture gaps before they kill deals
[00:22:30] Commit to Close vs. Catalog Red Flags – When dishonesty, fraud, or culture misalignment should stop a deal immediately
[00:27:00] Culture as the Ultimate Deal-Breaker – The difference between management style preferences and irreconcilable cultural dysfunction
[00:31:00] Post-Merger Integration Starts Day One – Why the PMI team needs a front-row seat on culture assessment from the IOI forward
[00:54:30] The Hub Logics Story: Interviewing Employees First – How Christian uncovered the real reasons a competitor failed by talking to the team
 
Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.

Donara Jaghinyan – Transformation and Integration Leader
Donara Jaghinyan, returns for Part 2 of our conversation on what actually breaks integrations after the deal closes. This episode tackles the messy reality of post-merger execution: integration debt that piles up when long-tail items don't get done, change management as a practical framework (not corporate fluff), and the cultural friction that surfaces in cross-border deals. Donara shares firsthand experiences navigating gender-based hierarchy in Middle Eastern TSA negotiations, building trust across geographies, and managing the communication breakdowns that create employee uncertainty. If you missed Part 1, listen to that first—then come back for the operational realities that determine whether your deal actually delivers value.

Things You'll Learn
What integration debt actually is and why long-tail items get forgotten six months post-close without a formal tracking system
Change management as a framework, not fluff—identifying friction points, enabling change agents, and communicating up to seven times before messages reach end users
Cross-border cultural challenges that don't show up in diligence, including hierarchy-based decision-making and relationship-building strategies that work globally
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💡 Tired of spending weeks organizing seller documents and building diligence checklists from scratch?
DealRoom helps M&A teams cut manual review time and move faster through diligence. Automatically organize messy data rooms, surface risks earlier, and generate tailored diligence requests in seconds—so your team can focus on analysis, not admin work.
 👉 See how AI can streamline your next deal: dealroom.net/ai
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Episode Chapters
[00:02:00] What Is Integration Debt and Why Track It – Long-tail items that don't close in 90 days and how to prevent them from getting lost after handoff
[00:04:00] Change Management: Framework, Not Fluff – How change management sits on top of integration like Agile and why it's about experience, not just execution
[00:06:00] Culture Isn't a Scapegoat—It's Strategy – Three approaches to culture in M&A: old-school "figure it out," progressive tailoring, and proactive culture transformation
[00:11:00] Implementing Change Management from Scratch – Surveys, assessments, and identifying change agents who can influence adoption before mass rollout
[00:17:30] US Work Standards Don't Translate Globally – Why European lunch breaks and Middle Eastern approval hierarchies require adaptation, not enforcement
[00:19:00] Gender and Hierarchy in Cross-Border TSAs – Donara's experience navigating decision-making challenges as a woman in Middle Eastern TSA negotiations
[00:21:00] Building Trust Across Borders – Human connections that smooth working relationships and create execution momentum
[00:24:00] Where Friction Actually Shows Up – Communication gaps, leadership changes, and employee uncertainty that derail integration plans
[00:27:00] What Goes Wrong and How to Go Fast – Delays, plan shifts, leadership turnover, and why IMOs push back on unrealistic timelines
[00:30:00] The Craziest Things in M&A – From TSAs resolved by title hierarchy to founders walking away from earn-outs mid-integration.
 
Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.

Donara Jaghinyan – Transformation and Integration Leader
Donara joins us to pull back the curtain on why integrations break—and what it actually takes to make them work. With deep experience across healthcare, SaaS, professional services, and financial services in both public and PE-backed environments, Donara has led diligence, post-close integration, TSA execution, and enterprise system implementations. This episode tackles the hard truths about carve-outs, TSA management, day-one readiness, and the cross-functional dependencies that most teams miss until it's too late. If you've ever wondered why integration timelines slip or costs balloon, this conversation delivers the answers.

Things you will learn:
Why TSAs aren't contracts, they're projects with hard deadlines, cost escalations, and integration dependencies that functional teams consistently underestimate

The hidden complexity of carve-outs and how scope, vendor negotiations, and people gaps create surprises even with solid diligence

How Integration Management Offices (IMOs) orchestrate cross-functional dependencies that functional leads can't see

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💡 Tired of spending weeks organizing seller documents and building diligence checklists from scratch?
DealRoom helps M&A teams cut manual review time and move faster through diligence. Automatically organize messy data rooms, surface risks earlier, and generate tailored diligence requests in seconds—so your team can focus on analysis, not admin work.
 👉 See how AI can streamline your next deal: dealroom.net/ai
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Episode Timestamps
[00:02:30] From International Relations to M&A Integration – Donara's unconventional path from Armenia to becoming a full-time integration leader in Boston
[00:04:00] The Dependency Problem No One Sees Coming – Why integration isn't just about systems or people—it's about understanding what breaks when you miss upstream and downstream connections
[00:06:00] Why You Can't Just Promote a PM to IMO – The critical difference between project management and integration program leadership
[00:07:00] What Gets Underestimated in Carve-Outs – Scope creep, vendor negotiations, and people gaps that blindside even experienced teams
[00:09:00] TSAs Are Projects, Not Contracts – Why treating TSAs as temporary extensions instead of hard deadlines creates integration debt and cost overruns
[00:13:00] Managing Two Carve-Outs Simultaneously – The story of integrating two business units with heavy TSAs, cross-border complexity, and mismatched organizational structures
[00:19:00] Getting IMO Involved Before LOI – How early integration involvement during diligence creates smoother execution and realistic timelines
[00:30:00] Day One Readiness and the 30/60/90 Framework – What actually happens from day one through the first 90 days, including controls, discovery, and execution milestones
[00:37:00] Integration Governance That Actually Works – Structuring steering committees, functional cadences, and escalation paths that keep deals on track
[00:40:00] The Integration Kickoff That Sets the Tone – What to cover, who to involve, and how to align teams on why the deal matters

Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.

Andy Cohen, Vice President of Corporate Development at F5

Andy has built a career that proves M&A is fundamentally about relationships, not just transactions. With 30 years of experience and 60 deals closed across high-growth tech companies including Citrix, Acquia, and F5, Andy has cultivated the kind of reputation where every CEO he's worked with will take his call tomorrow. In this conversation, he reveals why zero-sum thinking kills deals, how to convince people to sell without convincing them to sell, and why walking away on principle matters more than closing at any cost. 
Things you will learn: 
Why reputation is your most valuable M&A asset
The shift from zero-sum to win-enough thinking
Learn Andy's approach to using due diligence as the foundation for integration strategy, cultural fit assessment, and long-term value creation.
 _____________
💡 Tired of spending weeks organizing seller documents and building diligence checklists from scratch?
DealRoom helps M&A teams cut manual review time and move faster through diligence. Automatically organize messy data rooms, surface risks earlier, and generate tailored diligence requests in seconds—so your team can focus on analysis, not admin work.
 👉 See how AI can streamline your next deal: dealroom.net/ai
__________________
This episode is brought to you by S&P Global.
Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence. If you're in corp dev or PE, you know the pain — good private company data is hard to come by. Everyone's still chasing clean, reliable, up-to-date data. I started out using CapIQ Pro for public comps, but didn't realize until recently how deep their private company coverage has gotten. Over 58 million private companies, global reach, and actually usable for real deal work. This isn't surface-level. You get real metrics — ownership, financials, funding rounds, even asset-level insights. So if you're still toggling between a dozen tools trying to piece together the picture, maybe it's time to stop guessing and start sourcing better.
Learn More Here: https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/solutions/products/private-company-data?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=MAScienceH225
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Episode Timestamps
[00:02:30] The Empathy Advantage – Why sitting in every seat at the M&A table gives you the perspective to close better deals.
[00:04:00] Zero-Sum Thinking Will Kill Your Deals – The mindset shift from "winning" to ensuring everyone gets enough of what they want.
[00:07:30] Building Relationships That Actually Drive Deals – How a 30-year network of bankers, VCs, and former CEOs creates proprietary deal flow.
[00:10:30] Why Proactive Beats Auctions Every Time – Why almost all of Andy's deals are proactive and how strategic focus enables targeted outreach.
[00:14:00] Getting to the Story Behind the Company
[00:21:00] How to collaboratively build the acquisition narrative without being pushy or transactional.
[00:25:00] Trust Through Reputation and References
[00:32:00] Due Diligence Is Integration Planning 
[00:42:00] Navigating the hardest negotiations—convincing product teams that buying beats building
[00:53:00] Walking Away on Principle – The deal Andy killed because the other side wanted to hurt employee shareholders
Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.

In this special father-daughter episode, My daughter interviews me on my new book on Buyer-Led M&A™. We break down the framework built from over 400 practitioner interviews—covering why traditional M&A is flawed, how to shift from reactive auction-chasing to proactive deal sourcing, and why integration planning must begin during diligence.

Things you will learn:
Why integration planning during diligence (not after) determines deal success
How the five pillars of buyer-led M&A transform reactive processes into strategic engines
 Why proactive deal sourcing beats bank-led auctions every time
____________________
This episode is brought to you by S&P Global.
Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

If you're in corp dev or PE, you know the pain — good private company data is hard to come by. Everyone's still chasing clean, reliable, up-to-date data. I started out using CapIQ Pro for public comps, but didn't realize until recently how deep their private company coverage has gotten. Over 58 million private companies, global reach, and actually usable for real deal work. 

This isn't surface-level. You get real metrics — ownership, financials, funding rounds, even asset-level insights. So if you're still toggling between a dozen tools trying to piece together the picture, maybe it's time to stop guessing and start sourcing better. 
Learn More Here:
https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/solutions/products/private-company-data?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=MAScienceH225
 __________________
Buyer-Led M&A™: The Framework is Now Available
Traditional M&A is broken. Buyers chase auctions. Sellers control the process. It's reactive, inefficient, and exhausting.
After 300+ episodes of M&A Science, I've taken insights from the world's top corp dev leaders and distilled them into a practical framework for taking control of your M&A pipeline—how to source deals directly, build relationships earlier, and stop being auction-chasers.
If you'd like to build a proactive M&A program that founders actually want to engage with, you can grab your copy.
https://dealroom.net/resources/ebooks/buyer-led-m-a-tm-the-framework
_________________
Everything You Need to Learn Modern M&A — In One Membership
Access proven templates, frameworks, and real operator insights — all designed to help you learn faster, make smarter decisions, and run Buyer-Led M&A with confidence.

Sign up now with promo code "FOUNDER" for 50% off at checkout. 
https://www.mascience.com/membership
__________________
Episode Timestamps
[00:00:00] Introduction to Buyer-Led M&A – Kison introduces his new book and the framework for flipping traditional M&A from reactive to proactive deal-making.
[00:05:30] The M&A Science Origin Story
[00:08:30] The Maturity Curve Problem – Why companies make catastrophic mistakes on their first deal and how the buyer-led framework accelerates learning.
[00:12:30] Integration Is Where Value Lives – Understanding that the real work starts after close and why planning integration early prevents people from quitting.
[00:19:00] M&A Has a Design Problem, Not an Execution Problem – Why focusing on closing deals instead of making deals successful creates systemic failure.
[00:25:00] The Five Pillars of Buyer-Led M&A – Breaking down never M&A on impulse, unified tools, synchronized diligence-integration, scalability, and win-win approaches.
[00:37:30] The Three Coats of Conviction – How reactive positioning, integration negligence, and model mirage derail even well-intentioned deals.
[00:49:00] What Elite Buyers Do Differently – Early alignment, clear accountability, defined operating models, and building M&A as an organizational muscle.
[00:54:00] Proprietary Deal Sourcing Beats Auctions – The house-buying analogy that illustrates why doing the hard work of finding your own deals creates better outcomes.
[01:00:30] The Single Most Important Takeaway – Own your assumptions, validate them through rigorous work, and lead the process instead of letting sellers drive it.
Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.