Mercer M&A Ready™ 2010, April 14-15, San Francisco: As Deal Activity Re-Emerges, San Francisco-Area HR Leaders Need to Prepare

• HR leaders and their teams are counted on like never before by business leaders to make a positive impact before, during and after M&A deals
• San Francisco session scheduled for April 14-15, 2010 at The Fairmont San Francisco Hotel

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mercer announces its 2010 M&A Ready™ workshop in San Francisco will be held April 14-15 at the The Fairmont San Francisco Hotel, situated in beautiful Nob Hill, 950 Mason Street. Designed for human resource leaders and others responsible for identifying and managing the people issues vital to successful mergers and acquisitions (M&A), the workshops are structured to help professionals get ready for the challenge of deal work.

“As the economy starts to regain some strength and with valuations still historically low, we believe there will be an upswing in M&A activity worldwide, including in the greater San Francisco market”

“As the economy starts to regain some strength and with valuations still historically low, we believe there will be an upswing in M&A activity worldwide, including in the greater San Francisco market,” said San Francisco-based Susan Snow of Mercer’s M&A consulting business. “More so than ever HR-related issues are critical to deal success, and by attending the M&A Ready workshop, HR leaders can gain the skills and confidence they need to add value before, during and after the deal.”

By attending the San Francisco M&A Ready workshop, participants will learn how a lower tolerance for risk in the current climate affects what is expected from them. At the same time, they will learn how HR provides an important role in acquisitions, where there is a need to quickly assess the target organization’s key talent base and take action to stabilize the organization and retain that talent.

Through facilitated discussions and interactive exercises, the M&A Ready workshop will illustrate and simulate the latest best-practice M&A principles and processes that every senior HR leader must know in order to manage transactions effectively. The workshop will address M&A fundamentals, including; M&A phases, processes and vocabulary; deal and HR team structures; roles and relationships; key human capital issues and HR’s role in managing them across each deal phase; M&A transactions in the context of an organization’s business strategy; and how HR can ultimately help realize the value of the deal by developing and implementing an integration strategy that advances the deal objectives.

Mercer’s global M&A consulting business provides market-leading capabilities, supporting private equity and corporate clients in hundreds of transactions each year. Assisting clients in all phases of deals, from due diligence and “Day 1” to integration, are more than 175 dedicated M&A engagement and project management consultants. These specialists, in turn, work with thousands of other Mercer consultants worldwide who possess expertise in a variety of human capital areas in order to provide the best possible M&A solutions for clients.

The Mercer M&A Ready™ 2010 San Francisco workshop will be led by seasoned professionals with hands-on deal experience as part of Mercer’s global M&A consulting business.

Further information about Mercer M&A Ready™ 2010 workshops and online registration are available at http://www.mercer.com/maready.

About Mercer

Mercer is a leading global provider of consulting, outsourcing, and investment services. Mercer works with clients to solve their most complex benefit and human capital issues, designing and helping manage health, retirement, and other benefits. It is a leader in benefits outsourcing. Mercer’s investment services include investment consulting and multi-manager investment management. Mercer’s 18,000 employees are based in more than 40 countries. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York, Chicago, and London stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.mercer.com.