M&A Connect 2025: How to successfully integrate companies post-merger

During a panel at M&A Connect, a Leaders League event held in Brazil, experts from Grupo GPS, Cosmos Advisors and Crescera Capital discussed organizational culture, synergies and the professionalization of acquired companies. 

 M&A Connect brought together the leading names in the Brazilian M&A landscape in São Paulo on April 3rd for an eagerly anticipated day of discussions and networking. During the event, João Paulo Lipai, Managing Director at Cosmos Advisors, moderated the panel entitled Post-Merger Integration: Challenges, Obstacles and Lessons Learned. 

The discussion featured Karla Maranho, M&A Director at Grupo GPS; Pablo Almeida, Managing Director at Cosmos Advisors; and Gustavo Colasuonno, Private Equity Partner at Crescera Capital.   

Lipai opened the panel by emphasizing that the key issue under discussion would be the challenges of post-M&A integration, covering variables such as organizational culture, systems, finance, synergies and the different approaches companies take to these aspects. He then ushered the conversation towards whether significant differences exist in the integration process depending on the industry of the acquired company. 

Maranho was the first to speak, explaining that the key variable in this process is not necessarily the industry in which an acquired company operates, but rather its level of professionalization, which can significantly impact the complexity of integration.   

“When comparing industries, the challenges remain the same. What determines the level of difficulty for us is the degree of professionalization. Family-owned businesses, for example, often have a very strong organizational culture, but lack well-structured systems. On the other hand, multinational companies have well-defined processes and systems, which facilitate operational integration. However, in contrast, there is often a culture clash with GPS, for instance. This cultural difference is what poses the biggest challenge in the integration process,” she said.   

Gustavo Colasuonno agreed with Karla Maranho and added that having a well-structured post-merger-integration team makes a significant difference to the success of any tie-up. According to him, companies that engage in multiple acquisitions are able to build a team of specialists for this very process, which speeds up and simplifies adaptation. 

“I think Karla brought up an essential point. Companies from different industries have their own particularities, but regardless of the sector, what truly defines integration is the maturity of the acquired company. Small family-owned businesses, for example, struggle to fit into a larger structure because, in many cases, a single professional is responsible for multiple areas. How do you integrate this reality with that of a large company, where there is a dedicated team for each role?” he queried. “A serial buyer, who makes frequent takeovers, has the advantage of structuring an integration team. With this multidisciplinary team, which has the autonomy to make decisions and the flexibility to adapt to emerging challenges, the company creates a standardized integration model that works for different acquisitions. This makes all the difference,” stated the fund manager.  

Pablo Almeida added a complementary point, highlighting the challenge of following a structured business plan while dealing with unexpected issues that arise in daily operations.   

“Not all companies have a dedicated integration team, which presents two major challenges. The first is ensuring alignment with the business plan and the expected synergies from the acquisition. The second is that, in daily operations, unforeseen difficulties start to emerge. A common example is partial acquisitions, where there is later a need for a partner to exit. When the team changes, problems arise. The challenge is to accommodate these factors after the acquisition without losing sight of the original plan while also successfully integrating the people from the acquired company.” 

Karla Maranho took the opportunity to share Grupo GPS’s experience in the integration process and how it begins immediately after the acquisition is approved. 

“Even before the purchase is finalized, we start planning the integration. As soon as Cade (the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense) approves the transaction, we initiate the process. We decide who will be responsible for absorbing each area. For example, if we acquire a company with a strong presence in Bahia, the regional director immediately begins the operational integration. It took GPS a few years to build an integration team, but today we have specialists in various areas. Depending on the industry of the acquired company, we divide responsibilities among team members. As soon as approval is granted, we share all instructions, rules and processes to ensure an orderly transition. It’s a continuous learning process: with each new acquisition, we better understand what works and what doesn’t. We are always preparing for the next one.”