Mergers and acquisitions move millions, generate headlines, and significantly alter the course of entire companies. But while CEOs seal deals and legal teams handle the contracts, it’s the technical side — especially finance — that underpins the business’s viability from the ground up.
“A merger or acquisition negotiation without a mature financial structure is like trying to unite two castles built on sand: the impact comes soon after,” says Robson Gimenes Pontes, a corporate structuring specialist with extensive experience in due diligence processes, post-merger integration, and feasibility analysis.
According to him, the biggest mistake many companies make during a merger or acquisition is treating the process as a purely strategic or commercial transaction, forgetting that every merger is, at its core, a clash of cultures, processes, and financial realities. “Signing the contract is the easy part. The hard part is making what’s written actually work in daily operations and real cash flow.”
Robson works precisely behind the scenes: mapping hidden liabilities, testing synergy projections, organizing internal control structures, and ensuring decisions are based on data — not on promises. His role is to point out what’s not yet ready and build what’s missing before the operation begins.
Among the most critical points in M&A processes, he highlights:
- Incompatibility in accounting and tax criteria between companies;
- Lack of integration between control systems and result measurement models;
- Poorly grounded synergy projections;
- Underestimation of operational integration costs and timelines;
- Absence of a technical plan for continuing activities post-merger.
“In many cases, the excitement of the negotiation hides important risks. The technical leader’s role is precisely to bring clarity when everyone is looking to the future with excessive optimism,” he emphasizes.
Robson also argues that the success of an M&A process is directly tied to a company’s ability to maintain stability during the transition. For that, the presence of a mature technical team — already accustomed to working with indicators, analysis, and clear structuring — is essential.
“You can have the best plan in the world, but if the technical execution is weak, the operation won’t hold. And no one wants to find that out after the merger is already done.”
Author: Halabeth Gallavan
