Good deals possible, albeit tough markets.

• Author: Heffes, Ellen M.
• Position: M&A

Good deals are still getting done, finds a new study, albeit a softening economy, impatient investors and tough financing terms imposed by banks.

This is one of the findings from Doing Deals in Tough Times, from KPMG LLP, that identifies five common practices differentiating leading corporate dealmaking teams from others. KPMG surveyed 160 U.S. and European companies to find the organizational and implementation attributes of successful M&A teams.

"Our analysis reveals some specific steps that M&A teams can take to replicate the operating models of companies that are 'champions' at successfully creating sustainable value on a consistent basis," says Christopher J. Gottlieb, KPMG Transaction Services principal.

The five practices include:

* Due diligence. "Champion" teams utilize a different set of resources--and more of them -- to verify a broader set of business issues and better refine their valuation models. Champion companies spend a third more time in the due-diligence process than the less successful companies.

* Monitoring post-deal results. Leading firms measure the performance of their corporate development managers by using post-deal results. Some 60 percent of the top companies give their business development teams responsibility to get the new business ready for Day One, twice the level of involvement reported by the least successful.

* Allocating resources. Successful M&A teams...