Subject Matter
Audit & Assessments, Coaching, mentoring & facilitation, Governance & assurance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Project & programme management, Risk management
Divestment with Complex Retained Business Element
- Client
- Major Oil & Gas Company
- Sector
- Audit & Assessments Coaching, mentoring & facilitation Governance & assurance Mergers & Acquisitions Project & programme management Risk management
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- Divestment with Complex Retained Business Element
Project description
Chaucer was engaged by a major Oil & Gas Company to project manage the crucial retained business part of a significant divestment project.
The project objective was to create a new company into which various elements and products of the existing business would be transferred. This allowed the company being divested to maintain business as usual for key products which were not part of this complex divestment deal.
The principal challenges were to ensure zero disruption to ongoing business and maintain cash flow as usual while splitting up an integrated entity. In addition to separating the front line functions, the project would require designing and implementing of all the associated support services including financial control and accounting, HR, pensions and IT and infrastructure.
Moreover, a significant challenge lay in maintaining the focus of the client project team, none of whom were dedicated to the project and who were located disparately.
Chaucer's scope
Chaucer provided a wide range of disciplines to keep this rapidly changing and geographically diverse project on track:
Program management, governance and assurance
Planning, resource scheduling, progress monitoring and tracking
Project accounting and budget / project cost control
Integrated planning and resource scheduling including non-retained business elements
Issue management
Risk management and mitigation
Management reporting and facilitation of meetings
Interface and Interdependency identification and control
Benefits
The divestment was regarded by the Oil & Gas Company as highly successful because it realised significantly more value than was originally forecast.
The program controls and processes established by Chaucer were seen as critical to the maintenance of business operations and cashflow by the retained part of the business.
Chaucer provided rigorous change control and impact assessments - ensuring control was maintained and the operational and legal aspects of the company could be assessed. Such transparency facilitated the divesting company to maximise the value of the asset being disposed of.
While Chaucer remotely managed the set up of the retained business, the company project manager was able to focus on negotiating the divestment. Notably, the Project Manager, who was based several thousand miles away and two hours time difference away, was assured that the retained business activity transition was on time and to scope by means of clear project controls and regular formal and informal communications established and provided by Chaucer.
This project was a resounding success for the client and realised a significantly higher prize than was originally forecast. A major factor in this was attributed to Chaucer’s role in project managing the retained business element as well as supporting the overall project.
