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Mastering the Merger: Four Critical Decisions That Make or Break the Deal

Mastering the Merger: Four Critical Decisions That Make or Break the Deal

Current price: $35.00
Publication Date: November 1st, 2004
Publisher:
Harvard Business Review Press
ISBN:
9781591394389
Pages:
224

Description

Today's corporate deal makers face a conundrum: Though 70% of major acquisitions fail, it's nearly impossible to build a world-class company without doing deals. In Mastering the Merger, David Harding and Sam Rovit argue that a laserlike focus on just four key imperatives--before executives finalize the deal--can dramatically improve the odds of M&A success. Based on more than 30 years of in-the-trenches work on thousands of deals across a range of industries--and supplemented by extensive Bain & Co. research--Harding and Rovit reveal that the best M&A performers channel their efforts into (1) targeting deals that advance the core business; (2) determining which deals to close and when to walk away; (3) identifying where to integrate--and where not to; and (4) developing contingency plans for when deals inevitably stray. Top deal makers also favor a succession of smaller deals over complex megamergers--and essentially institutionalize a success formula over time. Helping executives zero in on what matters most in the complex world of M&A, Mastering the Merger offers a blueprint for the decisions and strategies that will beat the odds.

About the Author

David Harding is a director in Bain & Co.'s Boston office and is an expert in corporate strategy and organizational effectiveness. Sam Rovit is a director in the Chicago office and leader of Bain & Co.'s global mergers and acquisitions practice.