There’s nothing more interesting to talk about than when two cultures come together through an acquisition. How will the cultures mesh? What’s the fit between products/services? And the big questions if you’re an HR Pro – are there going to be fewer jobs, and who’s got the better benefits? If I’m involved in executing the transition, that’s what I’ve got to sell, so those are the key info points for me.
But of course, there are small cultural items that ultimately will mean just as much to employees day to day. Take the Anheuser-Busch acquisition by InBev for $52 Billion, which BusinessWeek reports may result in Budweiser employees using both sides of the paper to make copies:
"To pay for those deals, Brito (InBev CEO) cuts costs to the bone: The native of Brazil orders his
executives to fly coach on most flights, is stinting with standard industry perks like company cars and free beer, and encourages employees to photocopy on both sides of each sheet of paper.
By contrast, InBev’s new bride, Anheuser-Busch, comes to the marriage with expensive tastes. The company has spent lavishly on New Media ventures. There was ESPN in the 1970s and more recently the ill-fated BudTV.com. Longtime CEO August Busch III routinely made the 10-mile commute to work by helicopter and once mused whether to buy a castle in Europe for a commercial shoot. His successor and son, August Busch IV, continues the tradition: Employees enjoy free admission to the company’s theme parks and get two free cases of beer each month. "I think even the Clydesdales [stabled at Anheuser-Busch headquarters] get better treatment than your average InBev employee," jokes one industry consultant. Executives at Anheuser-Busch and InBev declined comment for this story.
This InBev CEO is known more as a steely operator than motivator. Brito recalled how he once chafed when given a promotion that included oversight of human resources and technology: "For me, sales was everything," he recalled, while a "touch-feely" concept like leadership "was for poets."
Ouch. With that quote in mind, I bring you perhaps the biggest leading indicator to let you know how an acquisition is going to go – the profile and history of the acquiring CEO when it comes to acquisitions. The vast majority of CEOs are going to say the right things when it comes to the culture of the company being acquired. After all, the integration process is a long one, you have lots to learn and things change. No reason to shake things up early.
But occasionally, you get a profile like Brito’s, who is already imposing restrictions on his own culture and feels like leadership is for "poets". That can’t be good. It feels like Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap all over again, except maybe a more stylish version.
I’m from the show-me state, so it will be interesting to see how this one plays out for my friends at Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis. Be sure to take a look at the article from an education standpoint; it has some great stats on how InBev is walking a tightrope to pay for the deal, and how things like the average margin on a case of beer for Anheuser-Busch distributors plays into making the deal work.
Final thought – how cool would it have been to put "This Bud’s For You" on your recruiting collateral? That had to be like shooting fish in a barrel….
Kris:
I posted about this back in May in my post entitled Mixing Beer Companies Brews Trouble when this was just a rumored transaction. I said at that time that this would end up being a Harvard B-school case of culture mismatch that spells doom. Not mentioned in your post was the fact that InBev plays hardball with unions. So labor unrest may be a big issue. Employees are not going to be happy if their perks are eliminated, especially the free beer.
It will be interesting to watch, but I am predicting a rocky road which will result in the Clydesdales becoming unhitched for awhile and the beer wagon running out of control.
BTW, I agree with you, recruiting for a beer company with a slogan like “This Buds for you” would be great. Who would not stop by to see you on a college campus!