Mergers and Acquisitions
Leveraging M&A as a Strategic Tool for Growth
Mergers and acquisitions involve complex decision-making that combines strategic, financial, and organizational considerations, and transactions carry the risk of not delivering the anticipated value. Organizations that use M&A as part of their strategic development, therefore, need a structured approach to assessing opportunities, managing the risks involved, and executing transactions effectively.
The Mergers and Acquisitions program enables growth-driven companies to achieve successful M&A outcomes by strengthening their ability to make confident, high-stakes decisions. It provides a comprehensive overview of the full M&A process. The content covers M&A strategy, identification and assessment of acquisition targets, valuation and financial considerations, and post-merger integration and organizational alignment. By attending the program, you will learn to prepare your business for successful M&A transactions and leverage M&A effectively as a strategic tool for growth.
The program is delivered through faculty-led sessions and applied examples. Participants are encouraged to reflect on their own organizational context and apply the learning to their ongoing or future M&A situations.
4.5 ECTS credits can be transferred from this program to the Aalto Executive MBA or Aalto MBA program.
An impactful M&A program with top-level international faculty and experienced M&A field practitioners as speakers.
In the latest program, the participants assessed that the program offered insights* into Strategic Logics of M&A (5.3 out of 6.0)
* ” Program objective was met: Get insights into Strategic Logics of M&A.”
By attending the program, you will significantly improve your ability to perform and contribute when participating in M&A processeses.
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 enhance your organization´s capabilities to manage high risks and also leverage M&A effectively as a strategic tool for 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, acquire new capabilities. It is also suitable for companies using or exploring divestments as part of their strategy.
This program is tailored for executives, members of management teams, and business unit directors who are engaged in—or expect to take part in—an M&A process. It also offers significant value for professionals in business development, executive finance, leadership, and M&A-focused roles who aim to drive growth through acquisitions and market consolidation.
Contents and Schedule
The M&A Program consists of three module days including lectures, exercises and case discussions.
Schedule
Instructors and Guest Speakers
Koen Heimeriks
Dr. Koen Heimeriks is a Professor of Strategy and M&A expert at Warwick Business School.
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, he 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.
His 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 Academy of Management Annals, Academy of Management Journal, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Science, Strategy Science, Strategic Management Journal. He also serves on the Editorial Boards of 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 on corporate development and entrepreneurship, strategy, organizational change, and sustainable growth strategies. He is honored to have received numerous prestigious international research and teaching prizes.
Panu Routila
Panu Routila is a Professor of Practice at Aalto University School of Business. During his long career prior to his academic position, Panu Routila has been involved in many industrial sectors, from building materials and metals to electronics and agricultural products.
Routila's most recent management position was at Konecranes, a listed company worth EUR 3.5 billion, where he doubled net sales and tripled profits. Today, he serves as the chairman of the board of several companies. These include Patria and Neova, among others. Routila also serves as the chairman of the board of the Turku Chamber of Commerce.
In his 2022 doctoral dissertation, he studied acquisition integration. The research focused on his own management at Konecranes in 2015–2019.
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.
