Mergers and Acquisitions
Best M&A Practices for Implementing Your Business Strategy
The Mergers and Acquisitions program equips you with a structured and in-depth understanding of the M&A process as well as the necessary tools and competencies to succeed in each phase.
The program focuses on M&A as a means to implement company strategy and deepens participants’ insight into different phases of the process, from the M&A strategy and target identification to the deal phase and further to post-merger integration and leading change. The program also provides a solid foundation for divestments or other separations.
The Mergers and Acquisitions program will significantly improve your ability to perform and contribute when participating in any phase of the M&A process. You will learn the latest knowledge and best practices from top-level faculty as well as the leading experts in M&A field, which you can take into your own context and share with your organization.
4.5 ECTS credits can be transferred from this program to the Aalto Executive MBA or Aalto MBA program.
2025 M&A Trends Survey - A Time to Pivot
Deloitte has explored the M&A landscape and its prospects for the year ahead. For 2025, the data includes some particularly interesting and encouraging findings. At the highest levels, the familiar inputs and disruptions – economic, fiscal, technological, and geopolitical – are now increasingly baked in for many dealmakers. For the year ahead, the latest survey indicates that pivots, shifts, and innovation are the tactics most likely to be embraced by dealmakers as they adapt to current trends. Over the recent years, nearly all (97%) of responding corporations have incorporated Generative AI or other automation technologies into their dealmaking processes.
M&A Trends Survey
Download Deloitte's "2025 M&A Trends Survey - A Time to Pivot" report to gain the latest insights in M&A.
Mergers and Acquisitions M&A Trends Survey
pdfDownload Deloitte's "2025 M&A Trends Survey - A Time to Pivot" report to gain the latest insights in M&A.
An impactful M&A program with top-level international faculty and experienced M&A field practitioners as guest speakers.
In the 2023 program, the grade given by the participants for the learning impact* was 5.5 out of 6.0.
* ”I discovered new ideas and insights during the program.”
In 2023 program, the participants gave the M&A program an overall grade of 5.4 out of 6.0.
Benefits
During the program, you will learn to prepare your business for successful M&A transactions in the changing business and technology landscape. You will learn to identify and use the right tools and frameworks for each phase of the M&A process. You will enhance your organization’s capabilities for smart acquisitions, successful integrations, and continued business success and growth.
For
The program is built to provide a valuable toolbox for companies applying or investigating Mergers and Acquisitions as a part of their strategy to expand their business or, for example, aim to acquire new capabilities. It is also suitable for companies using or exploring divestments as part of their strategy.
The program is designed for executives and management team members, or business unit directors participating now or in the future in an M&A process. The Program is also highly useful for Directors, Managers, and experts working in Strategy or Business Development positions. Also, Managers and experts from, for example, the CFO’s office, Legal, Communications or HR will also find this program very valuable.
Contents and Schedule
The M&A Program consists of 3 Module Days including lectures, exercises and Case-discussions
Instructors and Guest Speakers
Koen Heimeriks
Dr. Koen Heimeriks is a Professor of Strategy and M&A expert at Warwick Business School.
After earning his Ph.D. at Eindhoven University of Technology, Heimeriks held faculty positions at Copenhagen Business School, Rotterdam School of Management, and Tilburg University. Over the years, he has been visiting Aalto, Carnegie Mellon University, and INSEAD. Currently, he enjoys visiting the University of St. Gallen and the University of Oxford during his sabbatical.
Heimeriks´s research focuses on how firms learn to transform and develop sustainable corporate portfolios through acquisitions, alliances, and divestitures in corporate and private equity contexts. His work appeared in numerous top journals, including the Academy of Management Annals, Academy of Management Journal, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Science, Strategy Science, and Strategic Management Journal. He also serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Management, Organization Science, and Strategic Management Journal. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the STR Division of the Academy of Management.
Besides his research, Heimeriks trains, consults for, and works with senior executives and board members at publicly listed and large private (equity) firms operating in volatile settings. He is passionate about developing execute talent in corporate development and entrepreneurship, strategy, organizational change, and sustainable growth strategies. He is honored to have received numerous prestigious international research and teaching prizes.
Matti Suominen
Matti Suominen is Professor of Finance at Aalto University School of Business.
Suominen specializes in information economics in financial markets, market microstructure and corporate finance.
Suominen has previously worked as a consultant at the European Corporate Finance Practice of McKinsey & Co. and as a Chief Dealer in the Options and Futures Markets in Finland. From 1997 until 2006 he was in the full-time faculty at INSEAD, working first as an Assistant Professor and later as an Associate Professor of Finance. Although already also at the Aalto University, between 2006 and 2015 he has continued to work with INSEAD as an Adjunct Professor of Finance or as a Visiting Professor of Finance.
Suominen is actively involved in management consulting for financial institutions and executive education. He has taught in the MBA, PhD, and executive education programs. He has also taught in several company specific programs worldwide.
Matti Suominen did his PhD in Financial Economics in 1997 at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has also worked as a Visiting Associate Professor at Wharton.
Eero Vaara
Eero Vaara is Professor in Organisations and Impact at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford in UK, and visiting Distinguished Professor at Aalto University.
Professor Vaara has a PhD in Economics from the Helsinki School of Economics and MSc degrees from Helsinki University of Technology and Helsinki School of Economics. Eero Vaara’s research interests focus on organizational, strategic and institutional change, strategic practices and processes, multinational corporations and globalization, and methodological and philosophical issues. He is generally regarded as one of the world’s leading scholars in postmerger integration. His research has been published in the very leading journals of the field, and he has authored several books. He is now serving as an Associate Editor of Academy of Management Journal.
