Reverse Psychology: Takeda Offering Bonuses to Millennium Employees Who Stay With the Company
Millennium employees find themselves in an enviable position that most pharmaceutical and biotechnology employee would die for! Shortly after Takeda announced that it would buy Cambridge MA-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals for $8.8 billion, it offered many Millennium employees retention bonuses to stay at the company for 12 to 24 months until the acquisition is completed. These bonuses will be in addition to cash that many of Millennium’s 1,000 employees will get by exercising their stock options (Takeda is paying a premium to purchase all of Millennium outstanding shares of stock).
While offering retention bonuses to employees of a company that is going to be acquired is unusual it is not unheard of. Retaining key employees during an acquisition typically makes the transition a lot smoother. Further, it signals to extant employees that management values their services and that their continued presence at the company is vital to its success. Finally, it serves to reduce the stress and uncertainty felt by many employees when a company is sold.
In my opinion, offering Millennium employees retention bonuses is a very bold and smart move by Takeda. Unlike other pharmaceutical companies who have acquired biotechnology companies for their approved drugs or investigational medicines in their pipelines, this is Takeda’s first foray into the biotechnology business. Put simply, Takeda executives lack the expertise and requisite skill sets necessary to successfully compete in the biotechnology arena. Encouraging and retaining employees who helped to make Millennium a success is a brilliantly crafted strategy that will permit Takeda to quickly learn how to compete in the biotechnology space in a fiscally-responsible manner.
One of the biggest hurdles to overcome after an acquisition is merging the corporate cultures that existed at the two companies prior to acquisition. One possible solution to this problem is to restructure the acquired company and terminate many or all of its employees. Another solution is to determine (over time) which employees are or aren’t vital to operation of the company. Although this approach is not as draconian as the first option, it requires an inordinate amount time and money to implement. Ask any Pfizer executive about this the utility of this approach (I think that they are still trying to recover from the Warner Lambert and Pharmacia acquisitions that took place in the mid to late 1990s).
I think the Japanese got this one right. Maybe we Americans can learn a thing or two from them?
Until next time…
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!!
