Unlocking M&A Value: Driving Post-Acquisition Accountability and Execution

Justin Pethick, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, POWERS

Acquiring a large-scale manufacturing business is a high-stakes move—big potential, bigger execution risk.

You’ve just signed the papers on a $500 million deal, chasing scale and synergies, but the reality hits fast: entrenched cultures, rigid hierarchies, and decades-old processes don’t bend without a fight. The acquired team’s digging in, resistant to your vision, while your investors are tapping their watches, expecting EBITDA to climb yesterday. We’ve seen this play out across dozens of deals—some crash, some soar—and the difference is how you establish accountability and drive value without losing momentum. Here’s how we’d tell you to make it work, grounded in real wins and a no-BS approach.

You need to know what you’ve bought before you can fix it.

Walking into a $500 million manufacturer blind is a $50 million mistake waiting to happen—we’ve watched PE firms miss 20% of capacity because no one flagged an outdated line. Get the data fast and set your baseline.

Here’s what we’d prioritize:

With that map in hand, turn to the leadership team you’ve inherited. If they don’t buy in, you’re toast—we’ve seen six months and millions in EBITDA vanish when the top doesn’t align. Bring them in, lay out the vision, and make it crystal: this is a new era, and results are non-negotiable. Nail down KPIs that tie to your deal thesis—OEE, on-time delivery, cost per unit.

If you paid 7x for $100 million in EBITDA, show them how 85% OEE across plants gets you to $120 million. We advised one acquirer to set a 90-day target to cut downtime 10%—a $15 million lift—and they hit it because plant heads knew their bonuses rode on it.

Accountability’s a number, and it starts at the top.

Now, the tough part: breaking through that “we’ve always done it this way” wall. You don’t have years for a culture reset—your IRR clock’s ticking. Go for quick, visible wins instead.

Target a high-impact pain point—like a $5 million line bogged down by inefficiencies—and fix it fast. We’ve seen a $200 million manufacturer turn a lagging shift around in 60 days, boosting output 15% with better scheduling and basic training.

That’s $3 million in value, and it quiets the skeptics. Loop in the frontline—give them clear targets and small incentives—and resistance fades when they see the payoff. You’re not torching their old ways; you’re proving yours deliver.
Here’s where the rubber meets the road: don’t blow your budget on a $50 million CapEx spree to justify the price tag. Squeeze more from what’s there—equipment, people, supply chains.

We worked with a $300 million revenue plant limping at 70% OEE; tightened maintenance, cut downtime 20%, and pushed OEE to 85%—a $45 million output boost with no new spend. Supply chain’s another lever: a $1 billion firm shaved 12% off logistics—$20 million—by renegotiating terms and going just-in-time.

This isn’t about slashing; it’s about making the operation lean enough to hit your return targets without breaking the bank.

The final piece is locking it in so those gains don’t evaporate. Early wins are great, but we’ve seen too many deals stall when the system doesn’t stick. You need real-time visibility—dashboards tracking uptime, costs, throughput—and a team that owns the numbers. We helped one $400 million acquisition lock in a 10% EBITDA bump—$40 million—because plant managers could see and act on live data. Train mid-level leaders to drive their metrics, not just report them, and tie it to the big picture: a 5% cost cut today funds the next deal tomorrow. When execution is baked in, you’ve got a business that doesn’t just survive the handover—it scales.

Let’s run the numbers. Say you’ve bought that $500 million manufacturer at 8x EBITDA—$62.5 million. Day-one inefficiencies might be bleeding $20 million. Work the plan:

$10 million from lean ops: streamlined processes.
$5 million from a sharper team: better training.
$8 million from maintenance and supply chain tweaks: smarter asset use.
$7 million from a system that holds: visibility and execution. That’s $30 million in EBITDA lift—a 48% jump. Your multiple stays; your exit value spikes. That’s not just a deal—that’s a win.

Acquisitions like this aren’t easy—entrenched habits and old-school mindsets can drag you down—but they’re winnable. Get the lay of the land, set the tone with leadership, break the gridlock with quick hits, leverage what’s there, and build a system that lasts. You’re not just taking over a company; you’re turning it into a value machine. That’s the kind of move that keeps investors happy and the market buzzing.

About POWERS

At POWERS, we help acquirers and manufacturers unlock value fast. Our team digs into operations—processes, workforce, supply chains, maintenance—to drive efficiency and accountability. We deliver results: higher output, lower costs, and teams aligned to your vision. Our Digital Production System (DPS) takes it further, giving you real-time visibility into KPIs and execution, so gains stick. Want to maximize your next deal? Let’s talk.