Case #5: Merger & Acquisition higher success rates with systemic constellation

Marco Schlimpert
Jul 26
10 min read

Updated: Aug 30

Marco Schlimpert M&A Transformation Mentor — Leverage systemic constellation for successful M&A deals.

Merger & Acquisition Transactions surge in 2025 and 2026

The quantum leap in strategic management and Merger & Acquisition deals: Successfully implementing mergers and post-merger integrations with systemic constellation and remote viewing.

Apple's AI Crisis: When Meta Poaches the Best Minds

Tim Cook has certainly seen better times: Apple is perhaps facing the greatest challenge in its recent history. Not only is the long-standing dependence on the iPhone becoming problematic (consumers are using smartphones longer, market saturation is increasing, and sales in China are falling by 2%, while geopolitical tensions are putting pressure on business results), but more importantly:

Mark Zuckerberg is building a "Superintelligence Empire" at Meta – systematically emptying Apple's AI department.

The latest blow: Ruoming Pang, head of Apple's Foundation Models team and the brain behind Apple's AI models, switches to Meta. The compensation package? Rumors speak of a salary package worth $200 million. And Pang is just the tip of the iceberg.

Meta has systematically recruited within just a few months:

Alexandr Wang (Scale AI)
Nat Friedman (ex-GitHub CEO)
Daniel Gross (ex-Apple AI)
Yuanzhi Li (OpenAI)
Anton Bakhtin (Anthropic)
Now: Ruoming Pang (Apple)

The sum of these events is weighing on the company: While the company's revenue continues to grow, the recent departures have left their mark. Key leadership figures are leaving the company, and further departures are expected. Siri's future depends on external partners like OpenAI or Anthropic. AI development and product innovation under the "Apple Intelligence" brand is considered a key factor for Apple's future. We are eagerly awaiting the Q3 quarterly results, which will be published on July 31, 2025.

Meta doesn't just pay 5-10x more than Apple – the company also offers what Apple cannot: a complete AI vision without compromises. Meta is thus buying not only the best minds but also invaluable insider knowledge about Apple's AI strategy, weaknesses, and future plans. A competitive analysis from first-hand sources.

The compelling question in strategic management: Does Tim Cook accept this and focus the business on iPhones? Or must Apple soon acquire what it can no longer develop to continue playing a role as a tech giant? Or is this the first sign of a fate that befell Alcatel, the former French tech giant, 20 years ago?

Is a mega-deal imminent? All signs would point to it.

Current Merger & Acquisition Deals Worldwide

The Hewlett Packard-Juniper Deal: $14 Billion for AI Power

The acquisition of Juniper Networks by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) was announced in January 2024 and successfully completed in July 2025. HPE paid approximately $14 billion USD – $40 per share, about 32% above the stock price before the announcement.

The strategic background: HPE massively doubled its size in the networking business. Juniper brings leading AI-based network, cloud, and IT security solutions. The goal: a comprehensive portfolio from silicon through hardware to operating systems, security, and software.

The synergies are impressive: Through Juniper's innovations, HPE can tap into new market segments in data centers, service providers, and AI-native networks. Rami Rahim, former Juniper CEO, now leads the combined HPE Networking business unit.

The Uber-Expedia Deal: $20 Billion for the Super-App

Uber is planning the acquisition of Expedia Group for over $20 billion USD – a strategically ambitious step toward transformation into a comprehensive super-app. Uber's 150 million users should in future be able to book not only ride services but also hotels, flights, and vacation rentals.

The logic behind it: Expedia offers access to 50 million users with brands like Hotels.com, Orbitz, and Vrbo. The integration would create synergy effects – hotel guests could book Uber rides directly, while Uber users could seamlessly plan their trips.

Interesting: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was formerly CEO of Expedia – he knows the company inside and out. However, Expedia CEO Barry Diller made it clear that the company is currently not for sale. The deal remains exciting, with the outcome still uncertain.

Also in the DACH Region: ADNOC's Billion-Dollar Deals

Covestro: €16 Billion for High-Tech Materials

ADNOC acquired the German plastics manufacturer Covestro for approximately €16 billion total transaction value – €62 per share plus debt assumption and capital increase. Over 90% of shareholders accepted the offer at the end of 2024.

The strategic advantage: For ADNOC, this represents the leap from classical petrochemicals to high-margin specialty and high-performance materials. Covestro leads in innovative high-performance polymers for electronics, automotive, and construction. Additionally, the company brings expertise in sustainability and circular economy – Covestro aims to be climate-neutral by 2035.

Borouge Group: The $60 Billion Chemical Giant

In parallel, Abu Dhabi ADNOC and Austrian OMV are forming "Borouge Group International" by combining their polyolefin businesses Borealis and Borouge – one of the world's largest plastics conglomerates with a company value of over $60 billion USD.

The next step: The group plans the acquisition of Nova Chemicals for $13.4 billion USD to tap into the North American market. Nova brings innovative technologies like Advanced SCLAIRTECH™ and modern production capacities in Canada and the USA.

The result: With Covestro, Borealis, Borouge, and Nova Chemicals, a chemical conglomerate emerges with global production and distribution networks and a production capacity of over 13.6 million tons of polyolefins per year. ADNOC is transforming from an oil and gas producer into a globally diversified, sustainable chemical supplier. The transaction is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

The M&A Market 2025/2026: Momentum Returns

Germany 2025: 2,000 Deals and 20% Growth

The German M&A market shows clear recovery. For 2025, approximately 2,000 M&A transactions with German participation are expected – an increase of about 20% compared to 2024. 65% of companies and 44% of private equity houses completed more deals in 2024 than in the previous year.

The drivers: Declining interest rates by the ECB, high cash reserves, and readily available investment capital at private equity funds create ideal conditions. Money is therefore sufficiently available. Most activities take place in industry and chemicals, followed by consumer goods and technology.

The succession driver: By 2026, approximately 190,000 business successions are pending in Germany – a number that could increase to over 500,000 in the medium term. This succession wave will become an important growth engine in the mid-market and offers numerous buy-and-build opportunities.

Outlook 2026: Megadeals and Transformation

The global M&A market in 2026 will be characterized by fewer but significantly larger and more valuable transactions. Mega-deals over ten billion US dollars are increasing – especially in technology, energy, and financial services.

The trends: Software, AI, and automation dominate the headlines. ESG criteria are becoming an integral part of due diligence. Companies are using M&A strategically for digital transformation and as a response to innovation pressure.

What are the biggest deal-breakers for 2026?

1. Macroeconomic uncertainties:

Volatile markets, high energy prices, and difficult capital access for mid-market companies burden transactions.

2. Geopolitical risks:

Trade conflicts, political tensions, and tightened regulatory approvals and controls can delay or prevent deals.

3. Valuation differences:

Different price expectations between buyers and sellers as well as volatile company valuations complicate agreements.

4. Process management and culture:

Complex due diligence and integration processes as well as cultural differences cause M&A projects to fail.

5. Demographic succession pressure:

In the mid-market, the problem of missing successors is intensifying – many entrepreneurs cannot find suitable buyers.

Why 30% of All M&A Deals Fail: The Often Hidden Reasons

The reality of M&A transactions shows a nuanced picture: In Germany, approximately 50% of deals fully meet the expectations set before the transaction, while around 30% are considered failed. The remaining 20% move in the gray area between success and failure.

Post-merger integration is cited by 62% of experts as an underestimated success factor – this is often where the fate of the entire transaction is decided.

The seven main reasons for M&A deal failure:

1. Inadequate planning:

Many integration teams start planning too late – successful integration begins before contract signing.

2. Poor communication:

When employees learn about important changes through the press, this leads to mistrust and loss of key personnel.

3. Cultural differences:

Cultural issues are among the most common causes of failure – "soft factors" are neglected.

4. Customers are forgotten:

Too much focus on internal processes and neglect of customer relationships leads to revenue losses.

5. Over-optimistic expectations:

Overestimation of synergies, excessive purchase prices, and unrealistic goal setting.

6. Inadequate integration management:

Lack of leadership experience in complex coordination tasks.

7. Missing success monitoring:

Without continuous monitoring, problems cannot be identified and addressed in time.

The core problem: Traditional due diligence captures only the visible 10% of the iceberg. The crucial 90% – the hidden dynamics, unspoken rules, and cultural patterns – remain invisible and become stumbling blocks for integration.

This is where remote viewing and systemic constellation come into play as revolutionary tools. These methods make visible those hurdles that can cause deals to fail – even before the transaction is completed. They represent a powerful combination for revealing hidden M&A dynamics.

Marco Schlimpert Expert for systemic constellation in the industry — 90% of M&A dynamics are hidden behind the curtain.

Remote Viewing and Systemic Constellation as a Quantum Leap in M&A Transactions

The Stargate Project: Scientific Foundations

The US government researched the phenomenon of remote viewing from the 1970s to the 1990s in the secret "Stargate Project" with a budget of $20 million. The CIA, DIA, and Stanford Research Institute developed systematic methods of "Coordinate Remote Viewing" – the ability to perceive information about distant or hidden targets.

The result: The project delivered statistically significant results in military espionage and scientifically explored the phenomena of connected information fields.

Systemic Constellation: Making the Invisible Visible

Systemic constellation builds on these insights and provides a structured framework for M&A decisions. Through representative perception, hidden dynamics between companies, cultures, markets, and stakeholders become visible.

The process: Various system elements – such as "the target company," "corporate culture," "the market," "employees," and "synergies" – are positioned in space through representatives. These representatives remarkably develop perceptions and intuitions about the qualities and relationships of these elements.

The advantage: In just a few hours, profound insights become visible that would only emerge through traditional due diligence methods – if at all – after weeks or months.

Application in the M&A process:

Pre-Deal: Assessment of various acquisition candidates and their cultural fit
Due Diligence: Identification of hidden risks and opportunities
Integration: Early detection of problems in the post-merger phase
Synergies: Realistic assessment of achievable synergy effects

Detailed information on how it works can be found in my blog article: https://www.marcoschlimpert.com/en/strategic-planning-systemic-constellation

Strategic Management Reimagined: Why Systemic Constellation is Essential for M&A

M&A is an essential component of strategic management because organic growth in complex, rapidly changing, and saturated markets is often insufficient. Companies use acquisitions to:

Gain time advantage:
Access new technologies and markets faster than would be possible through internal development
Strengthen their competitive position:
Secure market share through consolidation and achieve economies of scale
Close strategic gaps:
Complement missing competencies, technologies, or geographic presence
Counter disruption:
Acquire innovators before they become threats
Realize synergies:
Reduce costs and increase revenues through combination

Especially in technology-driven industries, M&A is often the only way to keep pace with the innovation tempo. Apple's current situation clearly demonstrates this: When internal development fails and the best talent migrates, strategic acquisition becomes a question of survival. Unless Apple pulls a groundbreaking innovation out of its sleeve – like the iPhone once was.

For an effective M&A process with successful completion and integration, the combination of analytical precision with intuitive insight generation is a critical key factor. Only through this combination can one gain holistic access to the increasingly complex strategic challenges at hand in transactions.

The integrative approach connects:

The clarity of numbers with the wisdom of intuition
Formal due diligence with cultural fit
Rational evaluation with systemic dynamics
Visible structures with hidden forces

The result: Business leaders can understand and shape both the obvious and hidden dynamics of their M&A transactions.

The Power of Integration

Imagine: What if you could understand all these relationships not after weeks of data analysis, countless Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations, but already after just a few hours? What if you could take a direct look into the future of your planned acquisition and receive the truly relevant information for your decisions?

Remote viewing and systemic constellation make exactly this possible – fundamentally changing the way we conduct M&A in strategic management.

"Marco Schlimpert as navigator in the rescue boat — Remote viewing and systemic constellation safe critical deals.

Back to Apple: Systemic Evaluation of Corporate Challenges

Imagine Apple conducts a systemic constellation with elements such as:

"The existing business model"
"Corporate potential"
"Leadership team"
"Employees"
"Market competitors"
"Meta's Superintelligence Empire"

The insights would be revolutionary:

What measure stops the brain drain?
How can existing corporate potential be rebuilt and implemented?
Which corporate acquisition will successfully expand market leadership?
What new products and innovations act as turbo-boosters for the company?
What does a future-ready business model look like?

Apple could thus identify the precisely fitting measures and the right AI company within the shortest time and understand how to reunite the fragmented leadership – before the first billion dollars are invested.

Because one thing is clear: time and money are exactly what will soon be lacking.

Conclusion: Gaining Competitive Advantage with Integrative methods

Those companies that successfully integrate methods like remote viewing and systemic constellation into strategic management are the ones gaining ground.

Merger & Acquisitions remain a central instrument of strategic management – but with a 30% failure rate, traditional approaches need improvement.

Remote viewing and systemic constellation offer new analytical dimensions beyond numbers, data, and algorithms. Companies consist of people who create value together. The leadership and dynamics between these people are decisive for the success or failure of a transaction. 90% of the hurdles are intercultural and human dynamics hidden beneath the surface of the cultural iceberg.

Marco Schlimpert Leadership Mentor for Merger Integration — Achieve rapid measurable success through strategic management with integrative methods.

Systemic constellation and remote viewing make these visible, uncover integration hurdles before they arise, and transform diffuse risks into concrete options for action. They can even predict effects in the future today. A capability of invaluable worth in every transaction.

Those companies that utilize these extended analytical forms will not only make better M&A decisions – they will also dramatically increase the success rate of their transactions and already know today what will happen tomorrow.

Because they see what others overlook and create what others cannot.

This creates a clear competitive advantage: Clarity beyond Strategy.