M&A Blog and News
July 30, 2013
"....Global expansion has been a major growth initiative for companies around the world for decades, and it continues to be a powerful source of new customers and products as well as a means of access to critical talent and attractive cost structures. It also is a complex, multidimensional dynamic — and the motivations are frequently different. For some companies, the goal is growth by expanding into new geographies.
July 29, 2013
A number of years ago a very large Oil & Gas company acquired a major competitor in a hostile take-over. It was a multi-billion dollar transaction and a key objective was to retain and relocate up to 85% of the professional and technical staff from Fort Worth, Texas to Houston, Texas. If you are familiar with these two locations and the people that elect to live in each area, you can appreciate how ambitious this task was and how unlikely it was to be successful.
July 27, 2013
Since the BHP-Billiton proposal to acquire Potash Corporation was turned down by the Canadian Government in 2010, there has been an air of uncertainty regarding Canadian foreign takeover policy. On the one hand, the government of Canada has continued to indicate that foreign investment is welcomed, but on the other hand, no explanation was provided for the Potash Corporation decision and so buyers have been left guessing about unwritten takeover restrictions.
July 26, 2013
Take a look at some of the interesting M&A data Mergermarket has uncovered from the first half of 2013:
July 21, 2013
The proposed $4.7 billion takeover of Smithfield Foods by China’s Shuanghui International Holdings raises important questions for US policy makers regarding foreign takeovers: 1. Should food and agriculture be regarded as a strategic industry for which some level of ownership control matters?
July 15, 2013
Senior executive teams consistently underestimate the time and energy required to identify, assess, and address the many decisions that arise when two complex organizations combine in a merger or acquisition. More than a few CEOs have done the glamour work of negotiating a deal and thereupon handed off the dirty work of meshing structures, systems, and procedures to operations managers.
July 8, 2013
“Unfortunately for most companies, as statistics bear out, the vast majority of mergers just don’t go as planned. In fact, most mergers are driven by the need for growth, but at the expense of shareholder value.” The new CEO of a Fortune 500 company leaned back in his chair and astutely offered this to his new management team, “Well, I’m convinced that merger integration
July 1, 2013
Culture clash in a merger or acquisition is a lot like breathing. You don't notice you’re breathing, you just do it. You may be aware of your breathing now, because I have raised it to your attention. If someone were to approach you from behind, cup their hands firmly around your mouth and nostrils, and threaten your ability to breathe, then you would certainly pay attention to breathing. The same holds true for culture in a corporate combination. People don't