TY - JOUR AB - Brand is a strategic asset that should be managed. This is an increasingly important issue for businesses that favor or have favored acquisition‐based growth strategies. To ensure optimal strategic value from the brands they are buying and selling, just calculating brand value does not suffice. They need a process for integrating brand and corporate finance M&A practices and for determining how to brand the acquired company and how to manage the migration of the brand to the new company. The imperative is to ensure that customers remain happy and loyal to the brand. This article offers a guide to equip acquiring companies with a framework for incorporating brand evaluation and brand strategy into the M&A transaction process. It helps non‐marketers and marketers alike better understand how to conduct marketing due diligence before the deal; think about brand strategy in the context of a portfolio; establish brand migration plans to help maximize the value of brand in the deal. VL - 32 IS - 2 SN - 1087-8572 DO - 10.1108/10878570410525098 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/10878570410525098 AU - Kumar Shailendra AU - Hansted Blomqvist Kristiane PY - 2004 Y1 - 2004/01/01 TI - Making brand equity a key factor in M&A decision‐making T2 - Strategy & Leadership PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 20 EP - 27 Y2 - 2024/09/19 ER -