Mergers & Acquisitions Flashcards
What are 3 Strategy Options for Growth?
Diversification
Internationalisation
Innovation.
What are the Strategy Methods to Obtain Growth?
Organic Development
Mergers & Acquisitions
Strategic Alliances
What is Organic Development?
Develops organisations own capabilities.
DIY method.
Advantages of Organic Development:
- Knowledge & learning enhanced.
- Spreading investment over time, easier to finance.
- No availability constraints, no need to for suitable acquisition targets.
- Strategic independence, less need to compromises or accept strategic constraints.
- Culture management, new activities with less risk of culture clash.
Disadvantages of Organic Development:
- Slow
- Expensive
- Risky
What are Mergers & Acquisitions?
Concerned with the combination of 2 or more organisations.
Acquisition = takeover by purchasing majority shares of a company.
A merger is bringing together 2 previously separate companies of similar size.
What are the Different Types of Acquisitions?
“Friendly” Acquisition -
Targets management recommend accepting acquirers deal.
“Hostile” Acquisition -
Targets management oppose acquirer, appealing directly to shareholders.
What is the Motivation for M&A’s
Strategic Motives
Financial Motives
Managerial Motives
Motives not always business related. Many fail to deliver on objectives. Often mix of motives.
What are Strategic Motives?
- Extension –
Expand geographic reach of firm, product, markets (e.g. Walmart’s takeover of Asda). - Consolidation –
Increase scale, efficiency, and market power (e.g. M&A in the car industry and airline industry). - Resources & Capabilities –
Enhance resources and capabilities (e.g. Disney acquisition of Pixar = access to creative and animation tech resources and capabilities.
What are Financial Motives?
- Financial Efficiency – Cash rich company acquire/merge with company with weak balance sheet (high debt).
- Tax Efficiency –
Reduce combined tax burden, may be prevented by legal restrictions (e.g. Pfizer proposed deal with Allergan). - Asset Stripping and Unbundling –
Selling business units of acquired company to maximise asset value.
Also called bargain hunting.
What are Managerial Motives Serving in the Interest of Managers?
- Personal ambition –
Financial incentives tied to SR growth, boosting personal reputations, giving positions of greater importance to friend (loyalty). - Bandwagon effects –
Managers branded as conservative if M&A trend isn’t followed, shareholder pressure to merge or acquire, company may become takeover target.
What are Risks of M&A’s?
- Overpayment
- Synergies oversold
- Acquired firm not completely understood
- Integration and culture clash
- Management hubris
What is the Acquisition Process?
Target Choice –> (due diligence)
Negotiations –> (due diligence)
Completion & Change of Ownership
Integration –>
Results.
What Occurs During the Target Choice of the Acquisition Process?
Structured investigation of target firm regarding fit & reliability of financial and legal info.
What is the Criteria for the Target Choice of the Acquisition Process?
Strategic Fit -
Does firm strengthen acquiring firms strategy? Easy to overestimate potential synergy.
Organisational Fit -
Match between management/cultural practices and staff characteristics?