AI Post-Merger Integration Risk Assessment Playbook

A PE-backed company has completed an add-on acquisition 6 months ago. Integration has been delayed: two of three integration workstreams are behind schedule, the target's CFO resigned 3 months post-close, and customer retention is 11 points below forecast. The sponsor is preparing for a board meeting in 3 weeks.

When to use this playbook

• Use this playbook when the decision looks like the situation above: A PE-backed company has completed an add-on acquisition 6 months ago.
• It is a fit when you have source files in hand and need a structured, reviewable analysis — not a generic chat answer about "Post-Merger Integration Risk Assessment".
• Do not use it as a substitute for licensed, legal, clinical, or authorized official judgment in the domain.

What you'll need

• Integration workstream status reports (all three workstreams)
• Customer retention data (monthly, post-close vs. forecast)
• Financial performance vs. acquisition model (6 months)
• CFO transition plan and interim CFO status
• Deal thesis and value creation plan

Attachments: Documents (Documents)

You are a PE operating partner assessing integration health 6 months post-close for a board meeting. I am attaching:

Work only from the attached source files. If a conclusion is not supported, say so.

Produce:
1. Diagnose the root cause of the integration delays: is it resourcing, planning failure, cultural friction, or external factors—and is the current trajectory recoverable?
2. Assess the customer retention shortfall: is the 11-point miss caused by integration disruption, competitive response, or an overly optimistic acquisition assumption?
3. Evaluate the financial performance vs. acquisition model: which assumptions are proving wrong, and what is the revised EBITDA outlook at the hold period?
4. Identify the 3 highest-priority decisions the board needs to make in the next 30 days to get the integration back on track.
5. Tell me the revised value creation plan and the hold period IRR sensitivity to the current integration shortfalls.

Call out where independent models are likely to disagree, and list follow-up documents a reviewer should request.

What to expect

• Integration delay root cause analysis
• Customer retention shortfall diagnosis
• Financial vs. model variance and revised EBITDA outlook
• Top 3 board decisions required
• Revised value creation plan and hold period IRR sensitivity

Review before you act

• Validate this output against source files before relying on it: Diagnose the root cause of the integration delays: is it resourcing, planning failure, cultural friction, or external factors—and is the current trajectory recoverable?.
• Validate this output against source files before relying on it: Assess the customer retention shortfall: is the 11-point miss caused by integration disruption, competitive response, or an overly optimistic acquisition assumption?.
• Validate this output against source files before relying on it: Evaluate the financial performance vs. acquisition model: which assumptions are proving wrong, and what is the revised EBITDA outlook at the hold period?.
• Validate this output against source files before relying on it: Identify the 3 highest-priority decisions the board needs to make in the next 30 days to get the integration back on track.
• Confirm every cited figure, date, counterparty, or requirement against the attached originals — models compress and can drop a qualifier.
• Treat disagreement between models as a review item, especially on classification, materiality, and recommended next action.
• Do not authorize an operational, clinical, legal, credit, or enforcement action solely because the models agree.