- Everybody knows that most
mergers regularly fail to deliver the promised benefits, in fact many actually destroy
value. This is especially so where there are complex clashes of corporate or national
culture to take into account. And yet the potential prize of a successful operation is
great, so how do you make them work?
- A team of the Institute of
Management Development's top professors, including Jaques Horowitz, Don Marchand, Benoit
Leleux and Vladimir Pucik, lead by Piero Morosini, have examined all the major elements of
M&A activity to present the first academically sound but ruthlessly
pragmatic guide for senior managers involved in complex cross-cultural mergers.
Building on detailed studies
of major mergers, including AstraZeneca, Pwc, DailerChyrsler and Aventis, the authors set
out the strategic and financial issues managers need to consider at the outset of a
project, including the factors that can lead senior managers in to massively overvaluing
an acquisition target.
The book deals with the
implementation of a merger - the details where things most often go wrong. Most
importantly it considers how to blend the human and social capital, where much of
the potential value of a merger lies.
- The return of M&A ...
Mergers and acquisitions - or, more prosaically, consolidation - are back on the
agenda
Table
of Contents
Intoduction
M&A activity in the new
competitive milieu
by Ulrich Steger, IMD
Faculty
Short introduction
explaining why complex cross-border and cross-cultural M&As have been so cyclical in
the global arena. It tries to identify the drivers, especially in the last boom of global
M&As, and analyses some of the implication for regulation and market results.
Chapter 2
Institutional factors in
cross-cultural M&As
by Paul Strebel, IMD Faculty
This chapter examines the
need to focus on institutional details instead of national or corporate cultural clichés.
The role of institutions and values, beliefs and behaviour will be explored. Dangers
inherent in cultural clichés, with the experiences on both sides of the DaimlerChrysler
merger, will be discussed. Examples from other companies illustrate how to successfully
apply an institutional perspective to different levels of activity. To succeed, companies
have to manage cross-border institutional risk, capitalize on institutional diversity and
consequently walk the global talk.
PART II: How to think
strategically about M&As
Chapter 3
Mergers of equals: The case
of AstraZeneca
by Peter Killing, IMD
Faculty
Is a true mereger of equals
possible or is one party always goint to dominate? Senior managers at Astra and
Zeneca claim that they have created a successful merger of equals in the
pharmaceuticals industry. This chapter-length case study examins the various aspects of
a merger of equals the activities of Astra and Zeneca.
Chapter 4
Are mega-mergers about
creating value?
by Piero Morosini, IMD
Faculty
The real competitive
advantages from M&A activity are not the oft-quoted "value creation",
"synergy" or "market power" but those based on the combined knowledge
assets and social capabilities of the mergerd companies. Therefore the central strategic
issue for these complex mergers becomes how to rapidly combine these assets and
capabilities across cultural and organizational boundaries, and this will shape and
influence all other value-based, synergistic and/or market power considerations.
PART III: Financial aspects
of M&As
Chapter 5
Valuation in M&As: Art,
science or hubris?
by Stewart Hamilton, IMD
Faculty
It is well established that
many, if not most, M&As fail to achieve the shareholder returns anticipated and often
promised. There are many reasons for this, but often at the root is a failure to value the
acquisition target properly, particularly when assessing the synergistic benefits. Making
realistic assessments and setting expectations accordingly is especially demanding in an
international context. This chapter explores how some of the most common mistakes can be
avoided and reveals, more alarmingly, that the proportion of the price determined by
management hubris rather than fundamentals is also a problem. The dot.com era, with its
"bandwagon" side effects, highlighted this phenomenon, but it has not been
restricted to new economy companies. We look at a number of examples from a wide range of
industries where faulty valuations have led to disappointment, and in some instances,
complete disaster.
Chapter 6
Strategic and financial
issues of "reverse mergers"
by Benoit Leleux, IMD
Faculty
At all times, regardless of
economic conditions, growing companies have to raise capital to provide liquidity, pay off
selling shareholders or issue stock for use as acquisition currency. One way to do this is
to obtain a listing on a public stock exchange. A different way to gain a public listing
is through a reverse merger/reverse takeover, in which a private operating company merges
with/takes over an entity that is already publicly listed. This approach to financing can
also be successfully applied to sourcing capital from more efficient international capital
markets.
The chapter examines most of
the reverse mergers of the last 15 years in Europe, providing interesting case vignettes
to illustrate the circumstances under which a reverse merger could be the way to gain a
listing and raise capital. The mechanics of a reverse merger/reverse takeover transaction
are outlined, as along with legal and governance issues. The chapter provides a 2 by 2
framework to analyse the strategic motives behind reverse mergers and the key drivers of
performance in each quadrant.
PART IV: How to implement
M&As successfully
Chapter 7
Pitfalls in M&A activity
by Jacques Horovitz, IMD
Faculty
This chapter looks at some
of the common pitfalls that make more than half of all M&As fail. Since these pitfalls
have proved to be extraordinarily damaging in international M&As in the past, special
emphasis will be placed on the global viewpoint. Five pitfalls relate to pre-acquisition
conditions, five to post-acquisition issues. By identifying them and proposing some
solutions to avoid them, we hope to help you achieve success in your next M&A. The
chapter also looks at common reasons as to why acquisitions that should have taken place
did not in the end.
Chapter 8
Global M&As: Why do so
many fail? How to make them successful?
by Piero Morosini, IMD
Faculty
Cultural and organizational
differences between the parties during the integration phase of global M&As are often
cited as key reasons for the high failure rate. However, recent research suggests that
these differences need not be detrimental to the performance of global M&As. On the
contrary, if they are sensitively handled they can enhance performance. A number of
research cases are presented in this chapter, which also suggests a set of common
implementation principles that can increase the chances of post-M&A integration
success.
Chapter 9
Getting it right: The human
factor in M&As
by Vladimir Pucik, IMD
Faculty
In research on what
contributes to the success or failure of M&As, the human factors associated with the
acquisition process emerge as critical, especially when the deals span national
boundaries. Although the strategic and financial logic behind an M&A will determine
the orientation of the integration process, all M&As can benefit if equal attention is
devoted to assessing the people and cultural factors - starting with due diligence and
lasting until post-merger integration has been completed. Retaining key talent is an
essential condition for success in most acquisitions, so this chapter reviews the steps
necessary to make it happen. Firms that are successful in acquisitions recognize that they
must capture their learning to enhance their ability to execute acquisitions in the
future.
Chapter 10
Measuring, valuing and
managing information, people and IT capabilities: Pre and post global M&A
by Don Marchand, IMD Faculty
Most managerial attention in
M&A work focuses on so-called hard factors such as financial analysis and technology
integration. Soft factors, such as information management practices around customer,
product and operational information and the way people in the companies use information
and knowledge, are considered "intangibles", beyond the reach of measurement
approaches or outside the focus of managerial attention in M&A deals and post-merger
integration. Ironically, although these intangibles are an increasing part of what
companies are valuing in M&A deals and want to preserve after deals have been signedle
guidance or focus on measuring, valuing and managing information, people and IT
capabilities in pre and post M&A activities. Addressing these issues is especially
demanding in cross-border M&As. This chapter examines how information, people and IT
capabilities can be measured and valued in pre and post M&A work and emphasizes how
the successful integration of companies requires explicit managerial focus to capture or
enhance the business value of these capabilities. The chapter includes the pre and post
M&A approaches of two global companies, showing how managers sought to exploit the
value of information, people and IT capabilities in their growth strategy and how they
evaluated and managed these capabilities in post merger processes.
Chapter 11
Challenges of governance
structure in international M&As
by Ulrich Steger, IMD
Faculty
In M&As corporate
governance can play a dual role: on the one hand it can influence the ease with which
these transactions can happen (or highlight the barriers);on the other hand it sets
critical conditions for the implementation of the post M&A integration process and the
way the expected benefits are harvested (or not). This chapter specifically focuses on
governance issues in cross-border M&As since corporate governance principles, norms
and legal requirements vary significantly from one country to the next.
Appendix
Regulatory factors in
international M&As
by Daniel Neven, Geneva
University Faculty and EU Antitrust Commission member (to be confirmed)
Monopoly regulators on both
sides of the Atlantic have recently blocked a number of high profile M&A attempts. Th
apendix highlights the key aspects that executives need to know about this relatively new
phenomenon, how this might affect the way we think about global M&As in the future,
and what can we learn from recent examples to address antitrust regulations that have
suddenly achieved global reach.
216 pages