The Sheriff

HDR Controller Galen Meysenburg just told a war story that hit home with the audience at the Matheson Financial Advisors M&A Forum's morning General Session - "The Measure of Success."

The principal of a firm that HDR acquired said all the right things during negotiations and seemed sincere about integrating his company with HDR after the deal. Early in the process, HDR got wind of some potential issues and began to check into it. They found that the principal had called together his staff and told them that, although the deal had gone through, he was "still the sheriff" and retained complete authority to run the company.

HDR immediately began negotiations to sever the relationship with this principal. Later, when HDR conducted an employee survey, it found that the staff was pleased with the outcome. One said he didn't alert HDR about the principal because he wanted the deal to go through, assuming that the truth would eventually come out. Another wrote that it was a relief that he could finally stand up in the office and say he worked for HDR. This had apparently been prohibited before the principal's departure.