MWW brings more than two decades of expertise in navigating the complex communications challenges for the M&A environment, through all cycles of the capital markets. An integrated approach to digital and social media, as well as deep insight into the impact of regulatory and legislative influencers, sets MWW apart and creates an efficient, comprehensive communications team that elevates both the strategy and impact of our programs.

1. 1© MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
M&A COMMUNICATIONS

2. 2 © MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
The current media environment –
characterized by the 24/7 nature of the
news cycle, boosted by the proliferation of
social media channels, and complicated by
the decentralization of information control
and curation – presents new challenges
and opportunities for organizations
engaged in mergers, acquisitions and
related complex transactions.
It is no longer sufficient to issue a
day-of-transaction press release and
hope for positive coverage. In advance
of a deal, it’s essential to map out the
universe of stakeholders and develop
the correct customized messaging and
delivery channels for each audience to
ensure consistency and effectiveness
of communication, and, ultimately, a
successful transaction.
MWW has deep experience in counseling
companies, private equity firms, venture
capital firms and other investors (on
both sides of a deal) through complex
transactions. Just as a merger or
acquisition introduces a new chapter
in an organization’s story, we construct
a strategy that spans the lifecycle of
a transaction – from its early stages
through its integration – positioning the
transaction for positive reception from key
stakeholders, and ultimately positioning
the new enterprise for success.

3. 3© MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
WE WORK IN PARTNERSHIP
WITH YOUR EXECUTIVE TEAM,
LEGAL AND FINANCIAL ADVISORS,
AND COMMUNICATIONS TEAMS TO
ENSURE SEAMLESS MESSAGE
DELIVERY, AND TO CRAFT AND
EXECUTE POST-DEAL STRATEGIES
THAT PRESERVE AND ENHANCE THE
REPUTATION AND THE VALUE OF
THECOMPANYWHILEESTABLISHING
AFRAMEWORK FOR YOUR
FUTURE BUSINESS.

4. 4 © MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
MWW BRINGS MORE THAN TWO
DECADES OF EXPERTISE IN NAVIGATING
THE COMPLEX COMMUNICATIONS
CHALLENGES FOR THE M&A
ENVIRONMENT, THROUGH ALL CYCLES OF
THE CAPITAL MARKETS. AN INTEGRATED
APPROACH TO DIGITAL AND SOCIAL
MEDIA, AS WELL AS DEEP INSIGHT INTO
THE IMPACT OF REGULATORY AND
LEGISLATIVE INFLUENCERS, SETS MWW
APART AND CREATES AN EFFICIENT,
COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM
THAT ELEVATES BOTH THE STRATEGY AND
IMPACT OF OUR PROGRAMS.

5. 5© MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
MWW is a top-five independent
agency with nine offices across the
United States and in London. We offer
the depth, expertise and resources of
a major national firm, but the ability
to remain nimble, entrepreneurial and
committed to providing senior-staff
attention. It’s built into our business
model and it’s one of the key reasons
we chose to regain our independence
from an agency holding company.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to create relevance for
our clients and make them matter more
to their key stakeholders. We do this by
providing them with the best strategic,
integrated communications counsel and
effective, measurable implementation.
Particularly in the complex arena of
mergers, acquisitions and related
transactions, it is critical to map out
a varied universe of stakeholders and
identify the correct channels and methods
by which to communicate a unified
message. Further, our deep sensitivity to
regulatory and governmental relations
informs our approach to all modes of
interaction with concerned and interested
parties.
OUR M&A EXPERIENCE

6. 6 © MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
OUR M&A EXPERIENCE
TOTAL STAKEHOLDER APPROACH
CEO BRAND
ANALYSTS
ACADEMICS &
INFLUENCERS
GENERAL
PUBLIC
CURRENT /
PROSPECTIVE
EMPLOYEES
ONLINE
INFLUENCERS /
BLOGOSPHERE
MEDIA
POLICY
MAKERS /
REGULATORS
CUSTOMERS

7. 7© MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A

8. 8 © MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
• Transaction announcement strategy –
what are we hoping to accomplish? Is
this an opportunity to tell a broader story
about one or more of the parties? Or is
this a situation where we prefer to limit
the level of attention given to the deal?
• Review and modification (as needed)
of existing media protocols and social
media policy
• Creating an overarching “narrative”
or story around the transaction in
alignment with the core strategy for
the announcement
• Stakeholder and influencer mapping
and prioritization
• Development of an overarching
communications plan, including:
• Media strategy and stakeholder specific
communications “packages” – press
releases, web copy, social media
updates, stakeholder-specific FAQs
TRANSACTION COMMUNICATIONS
PRE-TRANSACTION/PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT
The pre-announcement phase is largely preparatory, and, in many ways, it is the
most critical. All parties on both sides of the deal must coordinate to ensure a unity
of messaging that will satisfy market participants, employees and shareholders,
regulators, media, and analysts. Tactically, this involves:
• Establishing a “leak strategy” in
coordination with legal/financial teams,
including communications materials
and defensive/offensive tactics, i.e.,
development of Holding Statements
for speculative inquiries
• Organizational communications cascade
– preparation, training and support for
managers, supervisors and others
(as appropriate)
• Spokesperson evaluation and training
• Coordinating with legal/financial team
and investment bankers
• For public companies, preparing
communications materials around
proxy solicitation

9. 9© MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
TRANSACTION ANNOUNCEMENT
Our day-of-announcement execution involves:
• Initiating rollout of communications program
• Coordinating day-of events and outreach
• Managing media interviews with targeted
reporters/publications
• Financial community communications, including investor
conference calls and sell-side outreach
• Initiating media/social media engagement
• Monitoring and providing ongoing media/social media
reporting and analysis
• Launching website transaction pages

10. 10 © MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
The majority of mergers fail due to issues related
to post-merger integration. Communications
can be an important element of successful
integration. From an external perspective, once
the news event has passed, the company faces
a new and varied set of expectations from its
constituencies. Effective communications can
align expectations and timelines and provide the
necessary leeway for the new entity to integrate
effectively and begin delivering against those
expectations. From an internal perspective,
integration of culture and of operations can be
materially improved via robust communications.
Communications around post-merger/
post-acquisition integration may involve a
comprehensive strategy combining messaging
POST-TRANSACTION:
POST-MERGER INTEGRATION
EXECUTIVE EMINENCE
Your stakeholders trust people, not companies.
For companies in transition, putting a “face” to
the organization via executive eminence can be an
extremely effective mechanism for cultivating and
preserving stakeholder support. Our proprietary
CEO EquityBuilder methodology positions
executives in the marketplace and leverages
around culture; internal communications to
preserve and encourage workforce buy-in;
executive eminence for the new or combined
management team, with an eye toward banking
additional reputational capital; and Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) programming that
broadcasts and enforces your organization’s
values.
Just as the announcement of the deal requires a
consistency of messaging to varied parties, the
next chapter also requires telling your story using
a common narrative for all stakeholders, again
customized for each audience. Your story reflects
a set of principles and value propositions that
needs to be relayed in a powerful, compelling and
consistent fashion.
their leadership for overall corporate reputation
enhancement. A research-based, strategic
approach to CEO and executive branding, CEO
EquityBuilder identifies issues in corporate
reputation management and customizes
programs for all phases of the CEO “life cycle”
(pre-CEO, new CEO and established CEO).

11. 11© MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
WHAT ARE WE TRYING
TO ACCOMPLISH?

12. 12 © MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
YOUR STORY
REFLECTS A SET OF
PRINCIPLES AND
VALUE PROPOSITIONS
THAT NEEDS TO
BE RELAYED IN A
POWERFUL,
COMPELLING AND
CONSISTENT FASHION.

13. 13© MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
Employees are the universal touchpoint for
all of your other constituencies, and their
attitudes, actions and activism can
have more of a direct impact on your
reputation than any other group, particularly
with the rise of peer-to-peer influence via
social media.
MWW takes a methodical approach to
achieve just that for our clients. Using
Employee IQ, our proprietary planning tool
designed to identify the perceptions and
needs of your workforce and its divergent
subgroups, we create a customized
blueprint for the organization’s employee
communications structure.
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS
CSR
When two entities merge, they don’t just
need to combine their IT systems and align
employee benefit packages. The values
a company stands for and its approach
to citizenship and stewardship – of the
company, the industry, the community and
of the planet – also must find a common
ground. What a company stands for can
be as important as what it sells or what it
is worth when employees choose where to
work, when customers determine which
brands they support, and even when
shareholders choose where to invest.
Whether developing a new CSR platform
and program from scratch or finding
an authentic approach to synthesizing
two distinct programs, MWW can guide
companies through this transition and
determine how and where citizenship fits
into the overarching narrative.

14. 14 © MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
INVESTOR RELATIONS
MWW brings a unique perspective, given
our deep understanding of the dynamic
commercial marketplace and how global
capital markets function. We work with
clients to address the priorities of the
various constituencies of importance
along the value chain, including analysts
and investors, customers and partners,
regulators and policymakers, as well as
industry professionals and media. Our
investor relations approach helps clients
create a distinctive communications
platform that allows senior management
to communicate a compelling value
proposition both clearly and effectively.
This approach is also supported by both
qualitative and quantitative research to
better inform and measure a company’s
communication strategies. MWW can
provide investor communication plan
development and advisory services
throughout the transaction. We can
provide market intelligence, including
investor and analyst perception studies;
evaluation of the market, relevant peer
sets and comparable situations; and
shareholder alignment evaluation,
including sentiment reviews and
shareholder base diagnostics. In
addition, MWW can support materials
development, including presentation, fact
sheet and press releases; preparation
of management for engaging with the
investor community; and investor outreach
and meeting facilitation.
This requires a deep understanding of the regulatory environment in each market, analyst and
investor expectations, and the ability to develop a compelling narrative to support the company’s
investment story. It also demands a proactive approach and preparedness to quickly react to
market speculation, unfavorable analyst reports, leaks or lawsuits. Open, transparent and timely
communication to target audiences is essential to the reputation of your company and the
protection of your brand.

15. 15© MWW GROUP, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | M&A
EFFECTIVE FINANCIAL
COMMUNICATIONS ARE CRITICAL
TO ATTAINING AND MAINTAINING
INVESTOR INTEREST, SUPPORTING
THE OPTIMAL PRICING OF
EQUITY AND DEBT INSTRUMENTS,
AND EXECUTING SUCCESSFUL
M&A DEALS, WHETHER
PUBLIC OR PRIVATE.

16. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Carreen Winters
Executive Vice President
201-964-2410 | cwinters@mww.com
MWW
304 Park Avenue South, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10010
MWW.COM
CHICAGO / DALLAS / EAST RUTHERFORD / LONDON / LOS ANGELES /
NEW YORK / SAN FRANCISCO / TRENTON / WASHINGTON D.C.
MWW is one of the largest full-service, independent public
relations firms with more than 200 communications professionals
collaborating across nine offices in the US and abroad: New York,
Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC, Dallas, East
Rutherford, Trenton, and London.