Understanding the strategic, organisational and human issues that can make your acquisition a success

Academic performance studies invariably conclude that on average, acquisitions create little or no value for acquiring companies. The record of many managers and companies in delivering the promise of their mergers and acquisitions is mixed indeed. Yet, in search of market leadership and growth, companies will keep making mergers and acquisitions, and new managers will acquire their own first experiences.

Simple prescriptions for better analysis, better planning or fuller integration are widely available, but seem to make little difference. The fact is that acquisitions rarely fail for lack of analysis, but more often because lots of fragmented specialised analyses fail to address the business issue or to avoid the build-up of inescapable momentum. Moreover, most acquisitions are not right or wrong, they end up so, depending on how well they are managed.

Based on many years of research and practice, the Strategic Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions (SIMA) programme is unique in several respects:

• More attention is devoted to strategic and organisational issues, rather than to the financial and legal aspects which tend to crowd them out.
• The programme looks at acquisitions as a process, not a deal. Each step in the process/acquisition strategy, search, strategic evaluation, financial valuation, negotiation and integration is related.
• More than half of the programme deals with the trade-offs and issues involved in integration, providing a consistent approach to handling different situations.
• The unique mix of participants allows for experience sharing and broadening one’s own perspective.The programme brings together a unique international blend of senior line managers, corporate staff and operating managers involved in managing acquisitions.

• Deepen your understanding of the acquisition process, both pre-and post-merger, resulting in increased confidence and a well developed M&A skill set

• Clarify your integration approach leading to more consistency and benefit realisation

• Gain insight and best practice references from highly experienced faculty and diverse participants

Financial Times

UK

5 Feb 09

Does your M&A add value?

Article by Professors Laurence Capron and Kevin Kaiser on the financial crisis, focus on the market for corporate control.

• Competitive Strategy
• INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy
• Negotiation Dynamics
• Managing Partnerships and Strategic Alliances