Publications

By Andrew F. Giffin and Jeffrey A. Schmidt In implementing an M&A, most managers focus on the financials. But success often hinges on how you deal with people issues and cultural integration. Is your HR unit up to the task? In 2001, an admittedly sluggish year for mergers and acquisitions, the global financial services industry undertook … Read more

By Gerry Adolph, Ian Buchanan, Jennifer Hornery, Bill Jackson, John Jones, Torbjorn Kihlstedt, Gary Neilson and Harry Quarls – Booz•Allen & Hamilton Executive Summary From airlines to automobiles to advertising, the urge to merge has escalated steadily over the past decade. In 2000 alone there were 9,472 merger and acquisition transactions in the United States — a new record. Although this rush to … Read more

By Eric M. Gauthier – Accenture Mergers and acquisitions are never easy. All too often M&As fail to integrate quickly, fail at operations and fail to achieve stated synergies. The stark reality is that while CEOs are under intense scrutiny to create shareholder value at all times, effective M&A execution can be the difference between creating and destroying … Read more

By Charles F. Kalmbach – Accenture Last year witnessed the greatest rush of merger and acquisition activity in history. The number of deals averaged 200 per week, the highest ever. The total dollar value of mergers reached $2.5 trillion, more than double the previous record. The year contained a high number of heavyweight matches, producing the seven largest … Read more

By Nils Bohlin, Eliot Daley, Sue Thomson – Arthur D. Little ]Merger and acquisition activity has grown sharply in the last five years. Since 1992, annual expenditure on such activity has leaped from under $400 billion to over $1,200 billion, and there are no signs of a slowdown. The size of the deals has also grown, culminating in … Read more

By Chris Adams, Andy Neely – Accenture According to a long parade of authoritative studies, mergers and acquisitions have no better than a 50-50 chance of creating value for the acquirer. Mergers go sour for many reasons: poor strategic concepts, personality problems at the top, cultural differences, poor employee morale and incompatible information systems. But the most ubiquitous cause … Read more

By David Ernst and Tammy Halevy – McKinsey & Company In some circumstances, the market seems to reward alliances more richly than mergers and acquisitions. Maybe it knows something that many managers don’t. Rarely does a day pass when the front pages of the world’s financial publications don’t trumpet the latest corporate alliance. Over the past decade, corporations have transformed themselves … Read more

By Evelyn Bourke, Gillian Laidlaw, Ian Woods – Towers Perrin Realising long-term benefits from a merger is much harder than obtaining short-term gains. As industry consolidation continues, insurers that learn from experience will have a big advantage. In Emphasis 2000/1, we reported on a study of UK insurance companies (mostly life insurers) that had participated in a merger or acquisition … Read more

By Evelyn Bourke, Gillian Laidlaw, Ian Woods – Towers Perrin What does it take to ensure a smooth transition following a merger or an acquisition? A survey of UK insurers reveals the capabilities needed for successful integration. What are the key requirements for successful integration following a merger or an acquisition? A study of predominately UK life insurance companies … Read more