It’s time for the next issue of our Transformation & Change newsletter.
We are focusing this month’s newsletter on the topic of:
Ready or not: Communication through M&A
What we cover: Trends on M&A activity and organisational readiness; Building communication readiness in the lead-up to signing and announcement: a Q&A with Ingrid M. Haas, Managing Director, Group Communications & Marketing at Deutsche Börse Group; Bridging the gap between strategic ambition and employee reality during M&A; Dates to put in your diary; And how to prepare for an M&A announcement.
Did you know?
M&A activity is accelerating globally, but many organisations still don’t see it as a likely source of disruption. Recent forecasts from Lazard, PwC and Deloitte all point to increased deal activity in 2026. Global M&A deal value rose by 40% in 2025, while more than 80% of dealmakers expect volumes to increase further this year.
Yet, H/Advisors’ global research, Leading Without a Landing, tells a different story when it comes to organisational preparedness for change. Only 24% of leaders identified M&A as a likely driver of change in the year ahead, placing it among the lowest-ranked future challenges.
Read the full report: Leading without a Landing
The bottom line
M&A is one of the most communication-intensive transformations an organisation can experience. Leadership transitions, culture integration, employee uncertainty and strategic repositioning all require clear, consistent communication – often at speed.
Companies that wait until a transaction is underway to think about communication may find themselves on the back foot. For leaders and internal comms teams alike, the challenge is no longer just responding to change, but building the readiness and capability to navigate it before it arrives.
Q&A
We spoke with Ingrid M. Haas, Managing Director, Group Communications & Marketing at Deutsche Börse Group, to explore how organisations can build communication readiness in the lead-up to signing and announcement.
How can organisations build M&A communications readiness even when there’s nothing on the horizon?
The base for readiness is awareness and knowledge. Know your industry, know your competitors, know the major industry trends that move your industry. It’s also crucial to know the stakeholders that will be affected by any acquisition, including regulators, customers, investors, your own employees, and last but not least your relevant contacts in the media. Invest in longstanding and trusting relationships.
How can organisations build change readiness in their managers and leaders so they’re prepared when a major announcement hits?
Socialise them with your company’s communication activities. Make communications – both internal and external – part of their job. Train them if needed and assist them with building a communications profile.
What are the biggest communications challenges immediately following signing and announcement?
The biggest challenge always is to keep things understated. No popping of champagne corks until you have all the necessary procedures closed, e.g. shareholder agreements, and most importantly regulatory approvals.
How do you strike the right balance between transparency and limitations on what you can share during regulatory review?
In regulatory proceedings, the level of transparency you can offer is limited by the regulatory proceedings themselves. It is more the frustration of the media and your own that you have to balance by giving very tight, stereotypical answers all the time.
Bridging the gap between strategic ambition and employee reality during M&A
M&A is often framed as a strategic growth opportunity. However, from an employee perspective, it can be very unsettling, as organisational structures, reporting lines, and even common values are all under review. Looking at the top leadership team, these varying perspectives tend to play out in the different views and attitudes of CEOs and HR leads.
H/Advisors’ Leading Without a Landing found that CEOs reported the highest confidence in their organisation’s readiness for change, rating it an average of 8.4 out of 10. Heads of HR reported the lowest confidence, with an average score of 7.5.
The difference in confidence may reflect the different realities each role sees day to day. CEOs are often closest to strategic ambition, market pressure and transformation priorities, while HR leaders tend to have greater visibility of employee workload, capacity and wellbeing. Both perspectives are valid, but the gap between them matters – particularly in the context of M&A.
For employees, M&A can bring uncertainty, increased workload, leadership change and concerns about job security or culture. The risk is that organisations become overly focused on the strategic case for change, while underestimating whether employees have the clarity, trust and capacity to absorb it..
How internal comms can bridge the gap
Internal communications plays an important role in helping align leadership perspectives before and during M&A. By bringing CEOs, HR and other leaders together, comms can help create alignment on both the strategic rationale for change and the likely employee impact – creating a shared, consistent narrative that reflects both business ambition and organisational reality.
Beyond alignment, comms can help stress-test integration plans against employee capacity, advocate for realistic pacing, and create ongoing forums where questions can surface. This shifts the function from announcing change to supporting the organisation’s ability to absorb it.
As M&A activity accelerates, organisations that close the gap between strategic ambition and employee reality will be better positioned to navigate integration, sustain engagement and maintain confidence during periods of significant change..
Key dates for the diary 📅
Internal Communications Conference
10-11 June 2026, London, United Kingdom
This conference centres around refreshing internal communications with high-impact, strategic and value-adding internal comms strategies. It covers topics such as strengthening relationships with senior leaders, leveraging the latest AI opportunities, reaching and engaging remote workers, and extracting maximum value from limited budgets. Link to website
Internal Communications Summit
29-30 June 2026, Berlin, Germany
This event focuses on the future of the workplace. It covers cutting through the noise in an era of information overload, building connected communities across hybrid and global teams, and proving business impact by demonstrating the measurable value of internal communications in driving organizational success. Link to website
Internal Communications and Engagement Live 2026
8 July 2026, London, United Kingdom
Hosted by Communicate magazine, this conference covers a range of topics, from communicating with hybrid workforces to measuring the impact of employee engagement initiatives. Attendees will hear from industry experts and participate in a series of roundtable discussions. Link to website
Preparing for an M&A announcement
Announcement day is a critical communications moment during M&A. It is often the first point at which employees, investors, customers and the wider market begin forming views on the deal. How clearly, confidently and consistently an organisation communicates on announcement day can shape trust from the very start. Much of that success depends on the preparation that happens before the deal becomes public.
Our approach
- Align comms functions early and work as one team: Bring all relevant functions (Investor Relations, Media Relations, Internal Comms, Customer Comms, Public Affairs, etc.) together from the outset. Coming together early reduces duplication and mitigates the risk of contradictory messages or conflicting timelines.
- Develop a unified core narrative: Co-create a single, cohesive core narrative that can act as a ‘single source of truth’ across all stakeholder groups. This narrative framework can then be tailored to specific audiences, ensuring consistency without losing relevance.
- Align on announcement approach and messages: Wherever possible, align with the other side to present a unified story. Orchestrated and joined-up communications are a powerful signal of partnership, leadership alignment, and confidence in the future.
- Equip leaders and managers as key communicators: Managers are the primary point of trust for employees. Equip them with clear guidance, messaging, and Q&As so they can communicate confidently from announcement day onwards.
- Build in feedback mechanisms from the outset: Establish channels to capture employee sentiment, questions, and concerns immediately following announcement. Real-time feedback allows you to identify emerging issues, adapt messaging quickly, and demonstrate responsiveness when employees need it most.
Get in touch
Please contact Adaora Geiger, Head of Transformation & Change, for more information on our services.
+44 7833 200401