"Every CEO and Corporate Director who has been in the path of the 'WOW! GRAB IT!' acquisition locomotive should read this book!" -- Charles R. Shoemate, Chairman and CEO, Bestfoods With global acquisition activity running into the trillions of dollars, the acquisition alternative continues to be the favorite corporate growth strategy of this generation's executives. Unfortunately, creating shareholder value remains the most elusive outcome of these corporate strategies. After decades of research and billions of dollars paid in advisory fees, why do these major decisions continue to destroy value? Building on his groundbreaking research first cited in Business Week, Mark L. Sirower explains how companies often pay too much -- and predictably never realize the promises of increased performance and competitiveness -- in their quest to acquire other companies. Armed with extensive evidence, Sirower destroys the popular notion that the acquisition premium represents potential value. He provides the first formal and functional definition for synergy -- the specific increases in performance beyond those already expected for companies to achieve independently. Sirower's refreshing nuts-and-bolts analysis of the fundamentals behind acquisition performance cuts sharply through the existing folklore surrounding failed acquisitions, such as lack of "strategic fit" or corporate culture problems, and gives managers the tools to avoid predictable losses in acquisition decisions. Using several detailed examples of recent major acquisitions and through his masterful integration and extension of techniques from finance and business strategy, Sirower reveals: The unique business gamble that acquisitions represent The managerial challenges already embedded in current stock prices The competitive conditions that must be met and the organizational cornerstones that must be in place for any possibility of synergy The precise Required Performance Improvements (RPIs) implicitly embedded in acquisition premiums and the reasons why these RPIs normally dwarf realistic performance gains The seductiveness and danger of sophisticated valuation models so often used by advisors The Synergy Trap is the first expose of its kind to prove that the tendency of managers to succumb to the "up the ante" philosophy in acquisitions often leads to disastrous ends for their shareholders. Sirower shows that companies must meticulously plan -- and account for huge uncertainties -- before deciding to enter the acquisition game. To date, Sirower's work is the most comprehensive and rigorous, yet practical, analysis of the drivers of acquisition performance. This definitive book will become required reading for managers, corporate directors, consultants, investors, bankers, and academics involved in the mergers and acquisitions arena.

Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions offers a unique perspective that will help scholars think about mergers and acquisitions in new ways, building our knowledge base on this critical topic.

A consideration of how the Asia-Pacific economies have developed since the financial crises, the effect of global forces on the national Asian economies and their different development paths as they jointly enter this new phase.

This book discusses the necessity for cooperation between China and Japan to provide international public goods to Asia. It provides insight into how China and Japan can redesign the process of economic integration and security architecture to ensure peace and prosperity in Asia, and how China and Japan can cooperate to correct the capital misallocation and channel savings more effectively to investments in Asia. It also suggests how China and Japan can promote free trade to help Asian economies upgrade their industries in the global supply chain. The book is an invaluable contribution to the existing discussion on China–Japan relations and how their cooperation is beneficial not only for them but also for Asia, and even the world.

Volume 28 of the Advances in International Management focuses on the opportunities and challenges for multinational enterprises that consider emerging economies and their destinations. It provides a forum for thought-provoking idea and empirical research, and is ideal for researchers and doctoral students whose work touches emerging markets.