CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
There are few activities in the world of business that can match mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in terms of opportunity to transform, potential for reward and risk of danger. A successful merger or acquisition can allow a mid-tier company to leap into the top tier. The effect for the company can be transformational; the rewards for that company, its shareholders, employees and management can be rich indeed. Economies of scale can widen margins, new territories can be entered and new technologies adopted, for example. On the other hand, when a merger fails, before or after the ‘deal is done’, the impact can be devastating, resulting in the loss of credibility, destruction of value and in some cases bringing all parties to ruin.
And indeed, there are few activities which are so likely to fail and cost so much when they do. Depending on how you measure it, between 50% and 80% of M&A deals fail to attain their objectives. This book is all about avoiding those failures. It gives you a clear framework and a set of tools to manage and successfully deliver M&A from outset to complete integration time and time again.
This section addresses the subject of M&A in general. As such, it forms the foundation for understanding the topic and is also the foundation of this book. It provides an introduction to M&A and introduces the lifecycle that deals generally follow. Different types of M&A and motivations for entering M&A activities are examined and recent trends in ...
