Mergers and Acquisitions Compensation and Leadership Consulting

Helping companies unlock the value of the transaction.

Unique Challenges
Every merger and acquisition (M&A) faces challenges unique to the businesses involved, the types of buyers and sellers, and the strategic goals of the deal. Executive compensation and talent management considerations often take front and center stage in all phases of the transaction—from the planning stage through post-closing integration.

How We Partner with You

We are your trusted advisors

Our specialized merger and acquisition consultants anticipate the challenges that can emerge in all phases of a transaction. They create innovative, customized solutions that optimize change and drive successful outcomes, providing the new entity with a competitive advantage.

Take advantage of our experienced insight

We have been advising clients undergoing transactions and changes to their business models for more than 25 years. Our experience spans a wide range of clients and industries. We have managed compensation matters on the smallest transactions to deals exceeding $40 billion in value.

You get tailored solutions

Our senior professionals bring decades of knowledge and expertise in legal, tax, accounting, SEC, actuarial, and communication disciplines. Together, we navigate the maze of strategic and technical issues quickly and with precision–providing compensation advice tailored to each specific transaction.

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Approach & Partnership

The Pillars of Success

Key Drivers

Business Strategy

  • Mission & Vision
  • Organization Culture

Pearl Meyer's Role

Executive Compensation

  • Develop Philosophy
  • Assess Competitiveness
  • Design Programs

Leadership

  • Develop Leadership Framework
  • Assess Leadership & Board Effectiveness
  • Coach & Develop

Communications & Disclosures

Key Outcomes

Exceptional Business Results

  • High Performance Leadership & Culture

Our M&A Services

Change-in-Control (CIC) Planning

When assisting companies with the design, modeling, and implementation of their CIC programs, our technical yet practical analysis helps clients:

  • Evaluate the competitiveness of their programs
  • Understand the unique tax, accounting, and SEC disclosure issues involved
  • Quantify potential payouts
  • Estimate golden parachute excise tax liabilities and lost tax deductions
  • Develop annual proxy disclosures

Pre-Merger Planning

When a transaction approaches, a multitude of compensation-related matters will arise that must be addressed by both the buyers and sellers including:

  • Due diligence reviews, including identifying and quantifying deal-related executive compensation liabilities and payouts
  • IRC 280G “golden parachute” analyses
  • IRC 280G “reasonable compensation” analyses
  • Design and costing of severance and retention plans
  • Development of key employee transaction bonus plans
  • Establishing proposed replacement compensation structures
  • Structuring new employment contracts for management

Post-Merger Integration

After the transaction close, we help clients to finalize tailored, competitive compensation solutions that support the strategic vision of the deal by:

  • Comparing target and buyer compensation philosophies
  • Assisting compensation committees in developing a new compensation philosophy
  • Evaluating the competitiveness of the existing programs
  • Designing new compensation structures for base salary and annual- and long-term incentives
  • Revising or implementing new severance and CIC plans
What to Know About M&A and Compensation
Leadership Consulting

We work with directors and executives to improve individual leadership effectiveness and create high-performance boards and management teams.

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Survey and Governance Data

Pearl Meyer is a powerhouse of both survey and proxy data. Our survey team produces over 50 annual compensation surveys and our partner, Main Data Group, offers public company governance and compensation data.

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At Pearl Meyer, we work with boards and organizations to design and implement compensation and leadership strategies that build great management teams.
Find out how we can help you.
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