U7 Do-It-Yourself, Buy, or Ally? Flashcards
Ten Reasons Mergers and Acquisitions Fail: The Most Common Causes For Companies Failing to Integrate and Profit from M&A Activity.
Having spent the first 17 years of his career reshaping companies acquired by an international group before focusing on?
M&A consultancy across several industries, Paul J. Siegenthaler has seen his fair share of M&A pitfalls.
Here’s his take on the most common causes behind the fact that?
the majority of company integrations fail.
Ignorance.
While the parties in a merger or acquisition cannot exchange commercially sensitive information prior to?
being under common ownership, there is enough crucially important and legally permissible preparation work to keep an integration team busy for several months before day one.
Most chief executives don’t know this and they waste time that could be put to good use while waiting for ?
clearance from the regulatory authorities.
Good preparation means?
the integration can kick off on day one. Speed matters.
No common vision.
=In the absence of a clear statement of what the merged company will stand for,
= how the organization will operate,
=what it will feel like,
= and what will be different compared to how things are today,
=there is no point of convergence on the horizon and the organizations will never blend.
Nasty surprises resulting from poor due diligence.
This sounds basic, but happens so often.
Team resourcing.
Resource requirements are very often underestimated. It can take—————————months to release the best players from daily business to join the ——————————- when the deal is completed.
two or three
integration team(s),
find a backfill for them, sign up contractors to?
fill the gaps, and set up the team’s infrastructure. Most companies start too late and are not ready
Poor governance.
Lack of clarity as to who decides what and no clear issue resolution process. Integrating organizations brings up a myriad of ?
issues that need fast resolution or else the project comes to a standstill. Again, speed matters, but with a sound decision-making process.
Poor governance. Lack of clarity as to who decides?
what and no clear issue resolution process.
Integrating organizations brings up a myriad of issues that need?
fast resolution or else the project comes to a standstill.
Again, speed matters, but with a sound decision-making process.
Poor communication.
Messages too frequently lack relevance to their audience and often hover at the strategic level when what employees want to know is?
why the organization is merging, why a merger is the best course action it could take, how the company will be better after the merger,
how it will ‘feel’, how the merger will affect their work, and what support they will receive if they are adversely impacted.
Lack of courage.
Delaying some of the tough decisions that are required to integrate two organizations can only result in a disappointing outcome.
Making those decisions will not please everyone but has the advantage of clarity and honesty and allows those who do not find the journey and destination appealing to step off before the train gathers too much speed.
Weak leadership.
Integrating two organizations is like sailing through a storm: you need a strong captain, someone whom everyone can trust to bring the ship to its destination,
someone who projects energy, enthusiasm, clarity and who communicates that energy to everyone.
If senior managers do not walk the talk, if their behavior and ways of working do not match the vision and values the company aspires to
, all credibility is lost and the merger’s mission is reduced to meaningless words.
Lost baby with bathwater.
Companies contemplating a merger or acquisition too often omit to pinpoint what particular attributes make the other party attractive
and define how they will ensure those attributes do not get lost when the organization and the culture have changed. Culture cannot be bought – it needs to be embraced.
Do-It-Yourself
In order to embark on the path of strategic growth, organizations have three different options:
==They can decide to grow organically.
==They can merge with or acquire another organization.
==They can form a strategic alliance.
This section looks at the organic growth option, otherwise known as?
the ‘do-it-yourself’ (DIY) approach.
Organic growth is the investment into the development and growth of ?
the company’s own resources and capabilities.
The advantages of this strategic growth option are that?
the organization takes the time to grow into new areas and builds up its own experience.
The slow growth allows companies to spread the investment costs over time, making this growth much easier to?
finance than other growth options.
The company does not need to find a suitable partner in order to?
form an alliance or merge. It stays independent and can continue on its strategic path.
One example of an organization that decided to?
grow organically is Amazon. Amazon developed the e-book reader ‘Kindle’ and its own e-book store.
This expansion into the e-book market came through ?
the internal development of the Kindle reading device.
Amazon used its experience from the online book business and its software competence. After many years of being an online store for?
all products, Amazon went back to its roots with this new technology.
The Kindle is a hugely successful product and sales are growing continuously. Founder Jeff Bezos attributed the growth to?
the low price of the Kindle reader compared to other devices (such as the Apple iPad), the large number of e-books available to customers, and fast delivery.
Organic growth, however, did not come without expense for Amazon. The company invested?
a great deal of money in digital offers and e-books.
The example of Amazon clearly illustrates that organic growth is———————–. Often, the resources to grow into innovative new markets, to ————————–, or enter international markets are not readily ———————.
not easy
diversify
available
To succeed in growing organically, companies need an innovative and entrepreneurial corporate culture. They also have to be?
prepared to invest heavily in these new projects and wait a long time until the product or service is ready to enter the market.
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
In addition to organic growth as an option for expansion, companies can also grow by?
merging with another organization or acquiring another organization.
A merger is defined as the formation of a larger organization by two companies that?
operate as more or less equal partners.
This is different to an acquisition of a company, which is the takeover of?
one company by another.
If it is supported by both organizations, this is known as a ——————————. A ————————————–is one that is not welcomed by the assumed target and happens mostly by one company acquiring a majority of———————-of the other company.
‘friendly takeover’
‘hostile takeover’
the shares
Motives for Mergers and Acquisitions
There are various strategic reasons for mergers and acquisitions. In addition to these strategic reasons, there are?
usually financial implications and most often additional personal reasons for deciding to merge with or acquire a company.
As a general rule, ——————————- will play a role in the decision.
all three factors
Amazon
This is an online store that started as a bookstore. Today, anything can be purchased through the Amazon website.
e-book
An e-book is a book that is available in electronic form and can be accessed with an e-book reading device.
Ten Reasons Mergers and Acquisitions Fail: The Most Common Causes For Companies Failing to Integrate and Profit from M&A Activity.
Ignorance.
No common vision.
Nasty surprises resulting from poor due diligence.
Team resourcing.
Poor governance.
Poor communication.
Poor program management.
Lack of courage.
Weak leadership.
Lost baby with bathwater.
Motives for Mergers and Acquisitions
Strategic motives
Financial motives
Personal\/management motives
Strategic motives
Companies can expand their range of products through mergers and acquisitions. They can also?
enter new markets and businesses or expand internationally into new countries or regions.
These strategic motives look at increasing the size of?
the organization in order to benefit from economies of scale.
In the example of the Chinese motor company Geely, the acquisition of?
Volvo demonstrates an expansion into a different country.
Geely Buys Volvo. Believe It or Not, It Could Work
Mergers and acquisitions in the car business have a terrible record. —————————stands tall as the worst example of a——————————————.
DaimlerChrysler
bad marriage
General Motors made a hash of Saab and Hummer and its tie-ups with?
Isuzu, Suzuki, and Subaru didn’t yield much either.
Tata has struggled with ——————————–and now that Ford is sending————- off in a boat to China, we have to ask, can Geely make a go of this?
Jaguar and Land Rover
Volvo
It’s going to be a tough job. Geely is paying $1.8 billion for the brand. Volvo sales of 335,000 globally are off 11% this year and 27% off their?
peak, according to this Bloomberg story.
The Swedish carmaker has lost $2.6 billion during the last two years. The brand hasn’t been a real moneymaker for?
a very long time. Its costs are high and prices are strong but Volvo doesn’t command luxury premiums for its cars.
On paper, at least, this could be a very good deal for Volvo. Be clear about one thing. Zhejiang Geely Holding Co., not the—————–, is buying Volvo.Belgium.”
carmaker
This is an important distinction, says?
Jim Hall, principal of 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, Mich.
It indicates that Volvo won’t just be folded into Geely and lose the brand’s strong Nordic identity.
Geely Chairman Li Shufu said with unintentional humor that, ?
“I see Volvo as a tiger. It belongs to the forest and shouldn’t be contained in the zoo,” Li said in Mandarin.
“The heart of the tiger is in ———————————————-.
Sweden and Belgium.”
Volvo will keep its own management team, board of directors and headquarters in ?
Gothenburg, Sweden
That would indicate that Volvo will keep its —————————————-. European and American Volvo loyalists will still be buying cars engineered in ————————-and built in Europe.
Swedish heritage and cachet
Gothenburg
What that would mean, however, is that Geely is buying Volvo and lingering on with the same money-losing structure. That’s where China comes in. The Chinese luxury market is?
booming and still has room for some other players to come in and build a brand. Geely will assemble Volvo cars in China using cheaper manufacturing, Hall says.
The brand is upscale and Geely ownership might even be seen as?
preferable by Chinese consumers.
The brand is upscale and Geely ownership might even be seen as preferable by Chinese consumers. So the company can?
increase sales and get larger margins in China.
That makes the business case work better than it ever did either under Ford or as an independent carmaker.
After so many failed auto deals, this one has the makings of a success. Of course, it means?
Geely can’t manhandle Volvo.
They need to rely on Ford and the Swedes for?
technology that will make the Chinese cars real Volvos.
In short, they should manage it as?
a separate subsidiary the way Volkswagen Group runs Audi AG.
Give it autonomy and let the tiger run. Volvo is a ——————————– and will never be a ————————–. But it certainly could work if Geely gives it some —————.
niche brand
cash cow.
independence
Companies try to optimize their business model and become more efficient through?
a merger or an acquisition.
For example, departments such as administration or logistics can often?
merge their resources and benefit from increased efficiencies. Increasing an organization’s size through a merger or acquisition boosts its market power.
If a company acquires a competitor, the effect is multiplied:
the organization reduces the competition by means of the acquisition and augments its power to negotiate lower prices with suppliers through its increased size.
Through an increase in economies of scale, the company sells larger quantities and can influence the market price for?
the product or service offered, thus increasing its profit margin.
A further reason for mergers and acquisitions is?
the expansion of the company’s capabilities.
Amazon could have merged with an electronics company such as?
Sony or acquired the smaller French pioneer Bookeen in the e-book business.
In choosing this option, Amazon would have acquired the capability instead of ——————-. However, the organic growth option made
————an expert in the e-book business.
developing it
Amazon
Financial motives
In addition to strategic goals, mergers and acquisitions often have financial goals. Corporations may increase their financial efficiency by?
offsetting the profits of one entity with losses from another.
In addition to strategic goals, mergers and acquisitions often have financial goals. Corporations may increase their financial efficiency by offsetting the profits of one entity with losses from another. Thus, ?
the entity that made a loss can pay its liabilities with the profits of the other entity in the corporation.
The corporation benefits from the growth in size by?
acquiring the indebted entity and both sides benefit from the merger.
Further financial considerations for a merger or acquisition are?
possible tax advantages
. A company that operates in a country with high taxes may merge with or acquire a company in?
a country with low taxes in order to pay their taxes in that country
Hostile takeovers often aim at increasing the assets of?
the acquiring company.
Hostile takeovers often aim at increasing the assets of the?
acquiring company
This is done by breaking up the acquired entities into?
parts and selling these parts off.
The individual parts of the organization are often worth more than———————————–. As such, the acquiring company makes a profit from the ————————————–.
the entire company
sale of these parts
Personal\/management motives
General management motives also influence the decision in favor of?
a merger or acquisition.
The personal ambition of a CEO may play a role in ————decisions. Managers are often evaluated on ———————–results and the target ——— price.
M&A
short-term growth
share
To achieve the growth goal fast, the company can merge with or acquire another company instead of?
trying to grow organically over a long period of time.
Successful takeovers boost the reputation of?
the manager as the name appears in the media.
At times, the pressure from the shareholders might be strong if M&A are a trend in the industry and managers could succumb to?
the pressure and participate in the trend.
What Criteria Play a Role in the Selection of a Company for M&A?
If companies want to grow through M&A, they should develop a strategy that?
defines exactly what they are looking for.
In order to integrate two organizations successfully, ?
similar corporate cultures are a prerequisite.