In today's business environment, market maturity and globalization have increased the level of competition, making it more difficult to capture and increase market share. This has led to the age of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), where the easiest way to grow your business and deliver shareholder value is to acquire and merge companies and their revenue streams.The net result is that most people will either have to experience and survive M&As firsthand, or at least know someone that has gone through a merger or acquisition in their professional career. Though management will paint M&As as a "win-win" for all those involved, the reality is that the only people who win are the executive management teams. The remaining employees are trapped in the middle trying to make M&As work for their own survival.10 Truths of Mergers and Acquisitions: A Survival Guide lays out the reality of what happens when companies are acquired or merged. Starting with The Truth of Mergers: "There are no mergers, only acquisitions," each truth is conveyed with humor and irony, backed by real-life examples, and offers guidelines for success to help you survive the situation. Dr. C. M. Cower shares his own personal M&A mistakes and lessons learned, preparing you to delicately tread through the minefield of acquisitions and mergers.

This highly readable book from Lou Richard, a 50-year veteran of international corporate business and founder of Newport Capital, provides a practical explanation of key technical and tactical aspects of mergers and acquisitions, and also provides insightful real-life descriptions - "digressions" - of transactions as they happened, proving that truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

Mergers and acquisitions are happening in record numbers, with billions of dollars changing hands and major corporate deals making headlines every day. But the harsh reality is that most deals fail. Why? Because the companies didn't plan, didn't prepare, and didn't perform up to expectations. They didn't think beyond the deal. This revolutionary guide--written by two top consultants who've worked with some of the biggest companies in the world--goes beyond other books on the subject by giving you a complete, systematic “framework” of hands-on strategies for every step of the process. No matter which side of the acquisition you're on, what stage of the game you're at, or whatever level of management you're in, you will learn how to create new value for yourself, recognize new opportunities for your team--and inspire unprecedented levels of performance for your organization. If you've got “the urge to merge” and the need to succeed, Beyond the Deal offers a wealth of ready-to-use tools and techniques, including: 6 essential keys to a smooth integration 4 steps to making a “quantum leap” in performance 3 common mistakes that lessen value 3 surefire ways to get your team on board Dozens of case examples, quizzes, checklists, and more In addition to step-by-step planning strategies, the book shows you how to assess a company's full potential and--more specifically--how to motivate full-time workers as they face new challenges, take on new responsibilities, and work with new people. You'll also find crucial advice on corporate branding, customer service, company leadership, and knowledge management. And you'll be surprised to discover just how do-able--and profitable--mergers and acquisitions can be. The book also includes self-questionnaires to test your “acquisition readiness,” case-by-case examples of famous successes and notorious failures, and other tools.

In this book - the only mergers and acquisitions guide that focuses on small and midsize companies - experts from every profession and specialty related to the sale or acquisition of a business lead buyers and sellers step by step through each phase of the M & A process. Their aim is to help both parties avoid hazards and mistakes and arrive at a fair and mutually profitable arrangement. With 36 self-contained chapters that can be read in sequence or consulted independently, Mergers and Acquisitions for Small and Midsize Companies is both a comprehensive M & A tutorial for newcomers to the process and an indispensable reference for professionals involved in any aspect of the buying and selling of small and midsize companies.

A comprehensive new framework for winning at Mfrom up-front planning to postmerger integration The challenges of mergers and acquisitions can be daunting-but the opportunities and benefits they offer forward-thinking companies can be tremendous. Winning at Mergers and Acquisitions offers a critical new approach to strategic M&A based on the authors' pioneering concept of marketing due diligenceSM. Covering every stage of market-driven M&A planning and integration, this book shows how to look beyond the quick hit to focus on long-term growth rather than short-term cost-cutting. Featuring dozens of real-life case studies-including both failures and extraordinary successes-plus inside comments from leading M&A specialists, this book contains crucial guidance on: * Predeal planning-how to identify your strategic needs and pinpoint the merger candidate(s) that will help you meet them * Sizing up targets for acquisition-how to examine the essential marketing, sales, and product issues that will determine a good company "fit,".strategically and culturally * Revenue enhancement planning-how to identify ways to drive top-line growth and develop action plans to generate near- and long-term revenues * Filling the pipeline-how to prioritize and actualize the critical steps necessary to drive shareholder value * Developing communication programs-how to design and execute communication strategies to garner support for the merger by employees, customers, and other stakeholders * Building a comprehensive postmerger integration plan-how to align diverse corporate cultures, develop training and reward programs, and move beyond the turf wars and lack of productivity that hamper the success of mergers and acquisitions. Last year more than 7,000 mergers and acquisitions were completed, with a collective price tag estimated at more than $800 billion. And although they are known as highly effective means of achieving corporate growth and strategic advantage, these transactions are fraught with pitfalls: Statistics indicate that a third of these deals will fail and another third will not bear out the expectations of the merger partners. What can businesses looking to undertake strategic mergers and acquisitions do to ensure that they do not fall victim to confusion, multimillion-dollar losses, declining market share and profits, or any number of other negative results of failed transactions? The answers are in Winning at Mergers and Acquisitions, a pioneering step-by-step guide to growth-driven planning and swift, effective post-merger integration. Challenging the conventional emphasis on cost-reduction synergies, this book presents the authors' groundbreaking blueprint for mergers that yield strategic synergies and high returns in meeting long-term growth, increased market share, and revenue generation objectives. Mark Clemente and David Greenspan explore in detail the marketing, sales, and organizational issues that are vital aspects of successful M&A ventures. They take executives through the entire strategic M&A process-from setting objectives, to evaluating target companies, to aligning corporate cultures in an effort to ensure problem-free integration. They show how to maintain a sharp focus on the markets that will be reached by the merger-and they offer invaluable advice on charting a steady course through the often tumultuous period of integration, when organizational chaos can cause the merged company to lose momentum, market share, and the backing of customers, prospects, and shareholders. Winning at Mergers and Acquisitions is essential reading for CEOs, managers, deal makers, and others looking to capitalize on one of the most important methods of effecting corporate growth in business today-while staying focused on the people, product, and process issues that power that growth.

Prior to the economic downturn of 2008–2009, the number of mergers and acquisitions reached an historic high. Whatever happens next, one thing is clear: mergers, acquisitions, and growth will be more important than ever. Those who prepare their organizations for a multifaceted growth strategy—integrating acquisitions, organic growth, and alliances—will be the ones most likely to survive the difficult years and seize the opportunities in tomorrow’s restructured industries. If you’re a corporate leader—of a company large or small—there’s a merge ahead in your future. With Merge Ahead, corporate leaders and M&A professionals across the deal-making spectrum will have at their fingertips an insightful, accessible guide to the forces driving today’s deal environment and the most effective strategic and tactical responses for managing them. Merge Ahead provides key advice on managing the five major M&A trends that are shaping the corporate landscape: Creating the relevant scale and coherence a company needs for profitable growth Using deliberate speed to manage increasing velocity and stakeholder impatience Coping with increased competition as the new blue chip companies from emerging markets pursue deals globally Competing with a host of agile and deeppocketed financial buyers, including private equity and sovereign wealth funds Managing growing waves and bubbles of M&A activity that can drive valuations to unsustainable heights Merge Ahead contains the most up-to-date information available on recent mergers and trends in the world of M&A. It conveys critical information inconcise and fast-paced language, providing busy executives a hands-on resource that won’t bog them down. All signs point to M&A as one of the most useful vehicles of growth now and in the future. Let Merge Ahead be your guide through the sometimes rocky but ultimately fruitful and exciting new landscape of mergers and acquisitions.

Introduction to Business covers the scope and sequence of most introductory business courses. The book provides detailed explanations in the context of core themes such as customer satisfaction, ethics, entrepreneurship, global business, and managing change. Introduction to Business includes hundreds of current business examples from a range of industries and geographic locations, which feature a variety of individuals. The outcome is a balanced approach to the theory and application of business concepts, with attention to the knowledge and skills necessary for student success in this course and beyond. This is an adaptation of Introduction to Business by OpenStax. You can access the textbook as pdf for free at openstax.org. Minor editorial changes were made to ensure a better ebook reading experience. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.