ISS acquisition strategy (A): 2000
This case is about driving a serial acquisition strategy – a 10 year journey for ISS, one of the largest integrated facilities services companies in the world. Through its 600 acquisitions over 10 years, the company transformed from being a Nordic cleaning company to a global powerhouse in integrated facilities services offering what the company calls ‘the full house’ of services including: cleaning, catering, security, office support and landscape services. Case (A) describes the early days of how to set up the organization for such an enormous task. The participants are left with the question of ‘how to go about it’ especially given that the normal approach has been to leave the responsibility of search, due diligence, and negotiations typically to a central M&A team. However, given the sheer numbers that would have to be examined — at least 6000 – the task becomes quickly overwhelming.
Overall the learning objectives are threefold: 1) Determining the nature and organization scope of acquisition programs; 2) Recognizing the different approaches to acquisition integration depending on the strategic overlap with the existing business and need for cultural autonomy; 3) Recognizing when to stop acquisition programs as they can quickly take a life of their own.
ISS
2000
Cranfield University
Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
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Harvard Business School Publishing
60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
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NUCB Business School
1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
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in I by IMD 24 June 2024
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Case reference: IMD-7-2457 ©2024
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Case reference: IMD-7-2546 ©2024
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in MIT Sloan Management Review Summer 2024, vol. 65, no. 4
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