Posted: 02/1999

The Rules of the M&A Road
By Duane W. Richardson

It has been an explosive time for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the telecom
industry. MCI Communications Co. and WorldCom Inc. have joined forces. AT&T Corp. is
negotiating with Tele-Communications Inc., focusing its sights on combining voice, data
and video services over a single pipe to their customers. A $72.4 billion merger is
pending between SBC Communications Inc. and Ameritech Corp. Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE
Corp. announced their monolithic intentions in July. These transactions account for four
of the top 10 largest mergers of all time.

The consolidation effect is far-reaching, encompassing both small and medium-sized
players. For example, St. Louis-based Advanced Communications Group Inc. recently burst
onto the telecommunications landscape with a $120 million initial public offering (IPO),
purchasing several operating companies in a consolidated POOF (see below, "POOFs,
IPOs and the Language of M&A"). With rapidly expanding technology and the
increasingly relaxed regulatory environment, more and more deals will continue to make
headlines.

Some critics contend that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is creating an oligopoly,
rather than spawning competition as it was intended to do. While this may appear to be
true by the spate of billion-dollar megamergers, consolidation is a natural byproduct of
competition. It often is faster and more efficient to buy than build.

Regardless of volume, many companies’ goals include growing their business
exponentially; ex-panding their customer base and/or network; diversifying their product
line; keeping up with today’s technology; or simply exiting with a respectable multiple.
While these are the drivers for M&A activity, it’s important for growing players to be
taken seriously by understanding the rules of the road. Careful consideration must be
made, however, for a smooth transition of back-office operations, billing systems, revenue
streams and technologies, not to mention the overlap of employees (and egos).

The Seller

Let’s discuss the specifics of a merger or acquisition then, from the perspective of
buyer and seller. The seller’s goal should be to position the company’s strengths and
avoid making some of the more common mistakes, including:

One of the most important things a seller can do is to facilitate sales through proper
documentation. Most companies are unsuccessful not because of lack of revenue, but because
they cannot facilitate the revenue they have due to inefficient provisioning, billing,
credit and collections, etc.

The Buyer

The buyer should:

Only senior management can say ‘yes’ to deals. However, when in the serious due
diligence phase, the seller should talk to second-tier lieutenants who truly understand
the nuts and bolts of the company–sometimes even more than the owners.

Experience shows that most projections, most deals, most closing dates and most due
diligence processes take much longer than anticipated. Buyers and sellers should accept
this from the beginning to avoid missing the budgets and timelines that are critical.

Graph: Volume & Value of Telecommunications Mergers

Obviously, there is more to mergers and acquisition than the "1,000 words or
less" printed here, but the basic business principles still apply. Do the homework,
rework the business plan and remain flexible. Whatever is saved in time and money will be
paid for in frustration.

Duane Richardson is chairman and CEO of Richardson Barto Inc., a merchant banking
and telecom consulting firm based in Houston. Richardson also owns Advanced Convergence
Technologies (ACT), a prepaid 1+ company. He can be contacted at [email protected].