Explore
Statistical studies over the last forty-five years show that, although there are success stories, very many mergers and acquisitions do not result in the increased operating profits that economics textbooks would lead one to expect. As consultancy McKinsey have put it, ‘Anyone who has researched merger success rates knows that roughly 70% fail’. Yet—mysteriously—M&A activity has boomed across the globe, with a forty-fold increase in deals done each year now compared with four decades ago, in spite of the adverse general evidence. How can it be that talented, energetic, highly skilled, law-abiding, income-maximising participants in the M&A market will often promote mergers that lead to no operating gains, frequently with adverse effects on the wider economy too?
Drawing on findings from a wealth of statistical analyses and case evidence from many businesses, the book presents answers to this merger mystery. In a synthesis of ideas from several disciplines, solutions are detected in misaligned incentives, distorted financial engineering and information asymmetry. By revealing how weaknesses at multiple points can interact and cumulate to produce inefficient outcomes, the discussion serves as a corrective to the overwhelmingly positive tone of most commentary on M&A, whilst also advocating changes in participants’ contracts, in taxation, and in regulation which could significantly reduce the number of mergers that fail.
Designed to be accessible to a wide readership, the book will be of interest to investors, to M&A practitioners and commentators, to researchers and students of economics, political economy, finance, management and accounting, and—importantly—to policy makers working in these areas.
This book is included in DOAB.
Why read this book? Have your say.
You must be logged in to comment.
Rights Information
Are you the author or publisher of this work? If so, you can claim it as yours by registering as an Unglue.it rights holder.Downloads
This work has been downloaded 57 times via unglue.it ebook links.
- 57 - pdf (CC BY-NC-ND) at OAPEN Library.
Keywords
- Business & management
- case evidence
- Company law
- Company, commercial & competition law
- Economic Theory & Philosophy
- Economics
- Economics, finance, business & management
- Financial engineering
- incentives
- Law
- Laws of Specific jurisdictions
- Mergers & acquisitions law
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Ownership & organization of enterprises
- Social research & statistics
- Society & Social Sciences
- Sociology
- Sociology & anthropology
- statistical analysis
- Takeovers, mergers & buy-outs
- Textbook
- thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHB Sociology::JHBC Social research and statistics
- thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management
- thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCA Economic theory and philosophy
- thema EDItEUR::L Law::LN Laws of specific jurisdictions and specific areas of law::LNC Company, commercial and competition law: general::LNCD Company law::LNCD1 Mergers and acquisitions law
Links
DOI: 10.11647/OBP.0309Editions