The myth of 1 + 1 = 2: why event mergers succeed or fail long after the deal is done
Laura Capell-Abra on why mergers and acquisitions are never just about numbers on a page.
Mergers and acquisitions have become a defining feature of the events industry over the past couple of years.
Agencies are scaling, consolidating and, in many cases, looking for stability in an uncertain market. On paper, the logic is simple: more clients, more capability, more growth.
But according to management coach Laura Capell-Abra, founder of Alpha Lupa and Stress Matters that’s the easy part.
“The success of a merger,” she says, “is determined 12 to 18 months after the deal gets done.”
Laura Capell-Abra
Laura Capell-Abra
The myth of 1 + 1 = 2
At first glance, bringing two businesses together should be straightforward.
“It doesn’t always work out like that,” Capell-Abra explains. “You could sit and go, well, 1 + 1 is 2, that’s great, right? But it doesn’t always work out like that because actually there’s quite a lot of ego in the industry as well.”
In an industry built on relationships, reputation and individual performance, many businesses are driven by what she describes as a “hero mentality”.
“There are little shining stars of the business. They’re the ones that know loads of people or manage to get that client really happy or that deal got done.”
The challenge comes when two sets of those “heroes” are suddenly expected to coexist.
“You might have a little hero in one business, but the other business also has a little hero. When the migration starts to happen, it can become a little bit trickier.”
The post-merger blind spot
While leadership teams focus on getting deals over the line, the reality of what comes next is often underplayed.
“So often the founders and the senior people are so busy getting the deal done,” Capell-Abra says, “the post-merger bit is regularly thought of second.”
In many cases, the emphasis is on logistics.
“They’ll start with, 'Right, we need to merge the offices… do we need all these people? Let’s merge everyone into the same office!'”
But this practical focus can come at the expense of something less visible - and far more important.
“Every business has got this kind of invisible operating system, all of the soft cultural stuff. All the ‘this is just the way we do things here’ stuff - and suddenly that gets thrown up in the air.”
Culture shock - and the quiet exodus
For employees, a merger can fundamentally change the reason they joined a business in the first place.
“You’re basically being told, right, you’re now working for totally different people with a totally different value system,” Capell-Abra says.
That shift doesn’t always result in immediate departures. In fact, the opposite is often true.
“You quite often find like 12 to 18 months after a merger, that’s when the good people start to leave.”
Initially, people stay to see how things play out.
“They’ll stay at the start to see how it lands, and then after a while they’re like, yeah, this place that I’m now part of isn’t actually the place I signed up to.”
For many, the departure of founders or leaders is a key turning point.
“That leader that I used to be really inspired by has now gone, so am I inspired by this new leader or not?”
Why people get overlooked
In a process dominated by financial due diligence, it’s perhaps unsurprising that people considerations are not always front of mind.
“So often it’s considered a finance-based thing,” Capell-Abra says. “You’ll bring the MD in and the finance director in - but we’re merging two sets of people, right? It’s not just merging two sets of bank accounts.”
Yet while senior leaders are often tied in with earn-outs to ensure they stay, the wider team is left to decide for themselves.
“There is an element of going, well yes, that leader is really important, but also all the team should be considered important as well.”
What good looks like
Despite the challenges, Capell-Abra is clear that mergers can work: if approached in the right way.
“I think it’s worth the effort,” she says, “but it puts more onus on finding the right partnerships.”
Crucially, that means bringing people considerations in early.
“The people person should be in the acquisition process itself,” she says. “It shouldn’t just be the MD and the finance director.
“The ones that do it well are the ones that don’t rush to tell everyone about it. They actually take the time.”
And perhaps most importantly, it means being intentional about culture. Rather than trying to blend two existing identities, Capell-Abra believes many businesses are better off starting fresh.
“It’s much better to say, 'what do we want to be going forward?' , rather than 'let’s take the best of what we have been before'.”
More than just a deal
Mergers and acquisitions are unlikely to slow down any time soon, particularly as agencies continue to look for growth and resilience. But the lesson is clear.
“What you’re buying are the people; the great team members, the great managers, the great leaders,” says Capell-Abra.
“Yes, you might be buying clients and balance sheets, but really what you’re buying are the people.”
And whether those people choose to stay - or leave - is what ultimately determines success.
Photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels
Photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels