‘@Sschwarze – Would need a little more information: What is this middle-manager’s role on the transaction team? How critical is this person to the merged entity post-transaction close? Is there an adequate replacement for the individual on the transaction team or even in the merged entity post-transaction close? What 1:1 conversations between this middle-manager and his/her leadership in current organization have occurred? Have you identified motivations for resistance?
In general, you need to get to the heart of this person’s objection to hearing other points of view. Resisting providing information to help the transaction team make decisions is not ok and there should be consequences. Based only on your limited information, it sounds as if this person is not a team player and lacks critical collaborative skills, so my initial impression is that I question if this person possess the right behavior traits for success in the merged entity. Replacing this person on the transaction team is one way to resolve the issue, as long as whoever replaces them has the behavior traits, knowledge, skills, and access to the appropriate information you would need. Do understand that, unless the middle-manager is critical to the merged entity post transaction, and the team swap is handled gently, the individual’s attitude as you have shared it tells me there is a high likelihood they will likely leave the organization if they don’t get their way. What would be the impact to the transaction if this person left?
As with all decisions during the due diligence, you need to compare to the transaction thesis and the strategic vision of the organization post-transaction.
