Company acquisition from employees’ perspective

Mergers and acquisitions have always been one of the most riskiest and challenging undertakings that companies could face. M&A activities require extensive due-dilligence in order to minimize the risks. This thesis is about a particular merger case of two companies. The thesis focuses on reviewing the merger from employees perspective in the post-acquisition time. There are two research questions in this thesis, and answering them the writer aims is to explain the effects of the merger to the new organization, and also map out the possible risks of the merger from the employees view. The theoretical part of this thesis defines the meaning of mergers and acquisitions, and takes a glance into the process and timeline of M&A activities as a whole. The post-acquisition integration part is given a more elaborate review, as it is the focus of this thesis. Lastly, the theory section explains elements of the corporate culture which are relevant to the case, as well as matters of business continuity focusing on employee attrition. Qualitative research has been chosen as the main methodology for data gathering, due to investigative nature of research, as well as sensitivity of the topic. Data gathered in interviews is grouped in to themes, which are analysed in the latter part of this thesis. Lastly the thesis presents conclusions of the analysis