> Make sure you’re convinced that they understand the level of investment needed from them post-acquisition.
It’s way more than this. The acquirer also has to share your vision, be willing to let you execute on it without interference, be willing to commit funding for sufficient time for it to grow legs, have deep enough pockets to sustain the investment, and be honest about all of the above. Quite often the acquirer is just as caught up in the heat of acquiring as the acquired is.
In my experience, if you are trying to execute on a vision, acquisitions are supremely dangerous.
> have deep enough pockets to sustain the investment
Exactly! I recently saw someone blame Nissan's failure on how Renault ran the company into the ground. Only problem is that Nissan was on their way to bankruptcy when they were acquired. "Beggars can't be choosers". To be fair, Renault has done Nissan dirty, taking out money instead of re-investing
It’s way more than this. The acquirer also has to share your vision, be willing to let you execute on it without interference, be willing to commit funding for sufficient time for it to grow legs, have deep enough pockets to sustain the investment, and be honest about all of the above. Quite often the acquirer is just as caught up in the heat of acquiring as the acquired is.
In my experience, if you are trying to execute on a vision, acquisitions are supremely dangerous.