How to Navigate a Company Acquisition as an SWE

Question

The company I work for was recently acquired by another in the same industry. They are particularly interested in the system developed by my team, as it outperforms theirs. As the lead developer on my team, I see this as an opportunity to showcase my skills and stand out. However, I have concerns about the managers from the acquiring company and the potential challenges this merge might bring, they had problems with justice and made two layoffs in the last two years. I'm also questioning whether staying is the right choice or if I should explore other job opportunities

Have you experienced a similar situation during a company acquisition? How did you approach the integration process, and what mindset helped you navigate it effectively?

Rahul Pandey · Accepted Answer

Acquisition is one of those overloaded words in tech that has many meanings, and reading public statements about a company acquisition won't give you the real info:  A strategic acquisition refers to the big, splashy startup buyouts that get the most press coverage, e.g. Facebook buying WhatsApp. Usually the startup could not possibly get that valuation in the free market, so the acquiring company is paying a premium based on growth + strategic benefit. A product acquisition is about consolidation in the market, between mature industry players, e.g. Broadcom acquiring VMWare. Private equity acquisitions also fall in this category. A talent acquisition is the most common, also called an acqui-hire. This also has varying degrees:   It could be a way for the acquired startup to save face (they failed but want a soft landing)   It could also be a way to skirt anti-trust regulation, like Google acquiring parts of Character AI or Amazon acquiring part of Adept AI  So my first goal is to determine what type of acquisition your company went through. The best way of knowing this is to talk to higher-ups at either company, since any press releases will be filled with corp-speak of how joining forces will allow us to achieve our mission faster.  Now to answer your question directly: if you're in the 1st category, you likely have a lot of power coming into the new company. If you're in the 3rd category, you are probably at the mercy of the acquiring company.  I went through an acquisition with my first startup, Kosei, getting acquired by Pinterest. This was mostly a talent acquisition along with IP, so Pinterest decided where our small team would get allocated to maximize their goals around the recommendation engine.  Look at how much your pay (and scope) will increase in the new company as an input to stay or leave. You should be ideally paid a premium compared to your true market value.

How to Navigate a Company Acquisition as an SWE

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