Mergers and acquisitions often make headlines for their size and speed, but finance and strategy expert Sikiru Ayoola insists that true success lies beneath the surface.
According to him, sustainable deals are built not only on pricing but on disciplined cash management, careful integration, and teamwork that extends beyond closing announcements.

Sikiru stressed that cash flow is the core measure of value creation in transactions. Before a deal is sealed, he examines the acquirer’s liquidity position, financing strategy, and cash runway to ensure that commitments are not only affordable but aligned with long-term planning.
“Headline numbers do not sustain businesses,” he explained. “It is the resilience of cash flow that protects companies when markets shift.”

During the diligence phase, Sikiru suggests paying close attention to potential timing risks. These include seasonal revenue fluctuations, customer turnover, supply chain disruptions, delayed regulatory approvals, as well as exposure to energy costs and foreign exchange volatility. When visibility is low, he recommends using earn-outs that tie performance-based payouts to milestones, thereby protecting both buyer and seller in uncertain conditions.

For structuring, Sikiru favours a flexible approach that blends equity with callable debt, adjustable maturities, and covenant space to provide room for negotiation.

In regional deals across West Africa and international transactions, he advises insulating agreements from shock by using escrow for regulatory approvals, hedging mechanisms for cross-border payments, and a careful assessment of whether an asset purchase or share acquisition delivers greater tax efficiency.

He argued that integration is where the benefits of a deal are either realised or lost. Within the first 100 days, Sikiru advocates for a detailed plan, leadership of specific work streams, weekly cash-focused reviews, and a uniform record spread across ERP systems, banks, and treasury operations. He tracks value creation not as vague commitments but as measurable synergy items in procurement, logistics, energy, and real estate. Each synergy, he notes, should have a dedicated owner, timeline, and verification method. “If nobody tracks the cash, it will not materialise,” he warned.

Sikiru’s insights can assist companies in Nigeria and beyond in making informed decisions about when to accelerate acquisitions, adjust shareholder distributions, or expand working capital facilities.
He emphasised the importance of treating synergy realisation as a project that requires accountability, rather than merely a promise included in presentations.