The Way of Mergers and Acquisitions - Four Key Decisions That Determine the Success of Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions

Author: David Harding, Sam Rovit (), Hu Zhongxiang, Hu Feng (Translation), Bain (China) Company (Review)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: Business leaders often find themselves in a dilemma: 70% of major deals fail, yet relying solely on organic growth is almost impossible to build a world-class enterprise. What sets successful dealmakers apart? Through long-term interaction with experienced managers in mergers and acquisitions, David Harding and Sam Rovit have discovered that successful dealmakers employ specific strategies that significantly enhance their deal success rates. They start with small, low-risk transactions and gradually expand the scale, institutionalizing this "success model." They do not waste excessive time on data analysis but focus their efforts on four key decisions within highly standardized deal processes. By referencing the extensive research of Bain & Company on over 1,700 companies and analyzing both successful and failed M&A cases, this book reveals the strategies adopted by successful dealmakers: defining deal objectives based on sound investment principles; deciding which deals to pursue and which to avoid; determining which parts of a deal to integrate and which to maintain in their original form; and developing contingency plans to prevent deals from veering off track. Harding and Rovit guide readers through various successful and unsuccessful decisions, extracting key lessons that future M&A practitioners must learn. This book is a must-read for every manager. The core decision-making strategies outlined will help businesses achieve success in high-risk, critical transactions.