ISS acquisition strategy (B): 2007
This case is about driving a serial acquisition strategy – a 10 year journey for ISS, one of the largest integrated facilities services companies in the world. Through its 600 acquisitions over 10 years, the company transformed from being a Nordic cleaning company to a global powerhouse in integrated facilities services offering what the company calls ‘the full house’ of services including: cleaning, catering, security, office support and landscape services. Case (B) describes ISS in the middle of pursuing the acquisitions. It describes the role of Jens Olesen, Head of M&A traveling to the various countries pursuing the acquisitions in an attempt to develop a ‘best practices integration approach’ for the group given the types of acquisitions that the company has pursued in the past. He travels to Spain, Switzerland, and India who have encountered very different types of acquisitions. The participants are then asked – in separate groups – to extract how the integration path should work for each of these types of acquisitions – bolt-on acquisitions which concern geographic expansion of the same service activity, platform acquisitions, which consist of expansion into a new service activity, and transform acquisitions, which concern expansion into facilities management.
Overall the learning objectives are threefold: 1) Determining the nature and organization scope of acquisition programs; 2) Recognizing the different approaches to acquisition integration depending on the strategic overlap with the existing business and need for cultural autonomy; 3) Recognizing when to stop acquisition programs as they can quickly take a life of their own.
ISS
2007
Cranfield University
Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
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Harvard Business School Publishing
60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
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NUCB Business School
1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]
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- ISS acquisition strategy (A): 2000
- ISS acquisition strategy (B): 2007
- ISS acquisition strategy (C): 2008
- ISS acquisition strategy (A): 2000
- ISS acquisition strategy (B): 2007
- ISS acquisition strategy (C): 2008
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Case reference: IMD-7-2636 ©2025
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