Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Mergers and acquisition'

This thesis focuses on the effect of factors in the pre-acquisition planning stage on M&A outcomes. With three empirical chapters, the main findings provide compelling evidence that pre-acquisition factors are related to M&A fundamentals such as the motivation and incentives to carry out M&A transaction, and play significant roles in deal’s negotiation and post-acquisition integration. The first empirical chapter of this thesis investigates whether the voluntary disclosure at pre-acquisition issuance activities, i.e. the intended ‘use of proceeds’, has influence on subsequent M&A outcomes. The results show that firms disclosing acquisition intention at debt/equity issuance significantly raise more funds but fail to allocate capital efficiently on value-increasing M&A transactions. This evidence is consistent with the capital need theory. The second empirical chapter examines the wealth effect of mega corporate takeover and explores whether rich acquisition experience facilitate acquirers to generate shareholder value in mega-deals. The findings show that acquirer’s acquisition experience is positively related to mega-deals completion likelihood, stock performance in short- and long-run, and operating performance in the long-run following mega-mergers. The evidence indicates that acquirers are able to learn though experience and develop skills to deal with the complexity of mega-mergers. The final empirical chapter provides evidence on the relationship between target CEOs’ acquisition experience and takeover gains for target shareholders. The results show that target shareholders are likely to receive lower bid premiums and earn lower abnormal stock returns around deal announcement when they have a CEO with more acquisition experience. Additionally, target CEOs’ acquisition experience is positively related to stock payment. Our evidence suggests that more experienced target CEOs tend to bargain for more personal benefits related to the voting influence in the combined firm instead of helping their shareholders to gain bargaining advantage in the negotiation.

This thesis develops a composite index to evaluate takeover efficiency and deal quality, and then examines the impact of social connection on takeover process and acquisition performance with U.S mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Initially, Chapter 2 constructs a composite indicator (“M&A index”) to measure takeover efficiency and evaluate the overall deal quality based on stochastic frontier analysis. The M&A index is computed for each takeover transaction and standardised between 0 and 1. Deals with a higher M&A index imply higher takeover efficiency. The empirical results show that the M&A index is significantly and positively associated with the probability of deal completion and post-acquisition performance in the short run and even in the long run, indicating that the M&A index is effective and forward-looking indicator. Then Chapter 3 examines social connections between bidders and targets and its impact on acquisition premium. Consequently, acquirers, who are closely connected with targets, pay significantly lower premium and tend to use stock as the method of payment. The findings indicate that social connection enhances information transfer and reduces information asymmetry between connected firms. Therefore, acquirers with social connections have better access to target information and enhanced bargaining power in negotiations. Finally, Chapter 4 addresses the connection between acquirers and their M&A advisors. Investment banks are further classified into full-service advisors and boutique advisors. Consequently, it is found that acquirers are more likely to hire closely connected boutique advisors, especially domestic boutique advisors, in takeover deals while connections between bidding firms and full-service advisors reduces the probability of full-service banks being appointed. Moreover, boutique advisors, who have strong social linkage with bidders, serve the interests of bidders, negotiate lower acquisition premiums and deliver higher deal quality. In contrast, full-service banks act against the interests of the connected acquirers, leading to higher premiums paid and inferior long-run acquisition performance.

COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
Este estudo estabelece uma modelagem para o processo de análise de fusões e aquisições de empresas e ativos. O modelo é composto por seis fases, que englobam desde as reais motivações para aquisição de uma empresa até o desenvolvimento de um plano de take over que deverá ser implementado para gerir a empresa após a concretização da transação. À luz da proposta apresentada, é analisado o processo de aquisição da Agip do Brasil pela Petrobras. Procura-se verificar a aderência do processo ocorrido com a metodologia proposta, identificando as possíveis conseqüências advindas das diferenças encontradas. A proposta contribui para a manutenção da racionalidade econômica na Companhia na medida em que auxilia o processo de tomada de decisão, tornando-o mais transparente e agregando maior valor aos seus acionistas.
The study establishes a proposal of modeling the assets mergers and acquisition process analysis. The model is composed of six phases, in witch is defined all the steps from the motivation to the acquisition in the beginning process, to the take over plan that will run after the deal. Based on the presented methodology, the case analyzes the acquisition process of Agip do Brasil by Petrobras. The study compares the real process to the proposed methodology, looking for consequences that might appear from the differences found. The proposal contributes to the economic rationality in the company, since it discloses and assists the decision making process, adding value to its shareholders.

This master thesis investigates how an infrastructure for cultural adoption in a merger and acquisition integration could be designed. This research is valuable since prior research indicate that culture plays an important role in the success of integrating an acquired firm into the acquirer’s organization. However, there has been no research conducted in the field of how the culture should be regarded for. Our research took place at the Stockholm office of Logica, an Information Technology (IT) consultancy company which was acquired by CGI in August 2012. We have by the means of interviews and observations through our study at the case company derived numerous factors which all have a positive impact on the cultural adoption. These factors have then been categorized into three major themes; Experience, Planning, and Communication. These themes, and thus also factors, are not entirely independent but rather impose effects on each other, most notably in the case of experience. However, it is still our suggestion that the infrastructure for cultural adoption in a merger and acquisition (M&A) integration should address these three topics. Furthermore, it is in our beliefs that if these areas are addressed, the frequently recurring problem of unsuccessful M&As due to the neglecting of culture can be managed. And hopefully, by applying an infrastructural approach, it will aid the cultural adoption and moreover increase the probability of a successful M&A integration.

Background Synergies or rather the absence of synergies has been blamed for many failures in regards to mergers and acquisitions. Still, there are companies using mergers and acquisitions as a natural part of their growth strategy, indicating that these organizations manage to handle synergies efficiently. Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze synergies in regards to mergers and acquisitions in technical trading companies to learn about success factors. Method Because of synergies’ complexity this study has used a qualitative approach. The empirical findings have been compiled by semi-conducted interviews with company representatives from the organizations regarded in the study. Conclusion The conclusion points at several success factors in regards to synergies and mergers and acquisitions. However, the three most important were found to be; the entrepreneurship and human capital, the corporate head’s knowledge, the experience and selection capability and the inclusion of acquisitions (developed from the urge for growth) in their business models.

This thesis consists of three essays that examine the impact of mergers and acquisitions on supply chain performance. In the first essay, we analytically study the effects of upstream and downstream mergers on suppliers, retailers and consumers, in an oligopolistic market. We start with a benchmark case where mergers do not generate any synergy. By assuming that firms compete in Bertrand or Cournot fashion, we compare the effects of an upstream merger with a downstream one. We find that upstream (respectively, downstream) mergers always benefit the merging firms, while adversely affecting their dependent downstream (respectively, upstream) supply chain partners; non-dependent suppliers and non-dependent retailers also benefit from such horizontal mergers. Moreover, an upstream merger is more detrimental to consumers than a downstream merger. We then analyze three extended models: (i) In a case where mergers generate synergies through economies of scale at both levels, merging firms still benefit while non-merging competitors suffer a loss in profit. (ii) If the synergy comes as a result of economies of scope, then an upstream merger benefits not only the merging suppliers but also the related downstream retailers; a downstream merger benefits all the firms in the merging industry and upstream unrelated suppliers. (iii) If market demand is uncertain, then each firm's optimal strategy will depend on the value of parameters.The second essay is an empirical investigation of the effects of horizontal mergers and acquisitions on the merging firms' performance. Our primary focus is on inventory-related supply chain metrics, while other operating performance measures are also considered. By using accounting panel data from COMPUSTAT database and the data on horizontal mergers and acquisitions in manufacturing, wholesale and retail sectors from SDC Platinum database, we study how the (one-year) post-merger performance compares to that of the (one-year) pre-merger level for these metrics. The analysis is conducted at two different levels. We first examine changes in absolute performance. Relative performance compared to the industry average is studied next. We then extend our study to test the longer term effects of mergers (two-year post-merger), and also compare the performance of merging firms to similar non-merging competitors. In addition, a multivariate regression analysis is performed to identify the performance factors that significantly affect merging firms' profitability.In the third essay, we again empirically study an issue that complements the second essay. Specifically, we evaluate the merging firms' performance after vertical mergers and acquisitions. We find that after the vertical integration, the acquiring firms' operational performance actually deteriorates in the first year after the transaction. The negative effect lessens over time and it normally takes at least two years for those merged firms to catch up with their matching rivals. Looking at five years performance after vertical mergers, we find that merging firms do not gain significant competitive advantage over the industry average.
Cette thèse se compose de trois essais qui examinent l'impact des fusions et acquisitions sur la performance des chaînes d'approvisionnement. Le premier essai est consacré à l'étude des effets d'une fusion en amont et en aval sur les fournisseurs, les détaillants et les consommateurs dans un marché oligopolistique. Nous commençons par un cas de référence où les fusions ne génèrent pas de synergie. Nous comparons les effets d'une fusion en amont à celle en aval dans le cas d'une concurrence à la Bertrand ou à la Cournot. Nous constatons que les fusions en amont (aval) bénéficient toujours les entreprises fusionnantes, tandis qu'elles nuisent à leur partenaires dans la chaîne d'approvisionnement en aval (amont). Ces fusions horizontales profitent aussi aux concurrents. Par ailleurs, les fusions en amont sont plus préjudiciables pour les consommateurs que les fusions en aval. Par la suite, nous analysons trois différents cas: (i) lorsque les fusions génèrent des synergies grâce à des économies d'échelle, aussi bien en amont qu'en aval, ces fusions bénéficient aux entreprises fusionnantes alors que leur concurrents non fusionnants voient leur profits baisser. (ii) Si la synergie est le résultat des économies d'envergure, alors les fusions en amont profitent non seulement aux fournisseurs fusionnants mais aussi aux détaillants dans la chaîne d'approvisionnement. On note aussi que ces fusions nuisent à d'autres fournisseurs alors qu'elles bénéficient à d'autres détaillants. Quant aux fusions en aval, elles bénéficient aux entreprises qui fusionnent et leurs concurrents et aux fournisseurs pour les concurrents, tandis que le bénéfice de leurs fournisseurs diminue. Du point de vue des consommateurs, une fusion en amont est préférable à celle en aval. (iii) Si la demande du marché est incertaine, alors la stratégie optimale de chaque entreprise dépendra de la valeur des paramètres.Le deuxième essai consiste en une étude empirique des effets des fusions et des acquisitions horizontales sur la performance des entreprises fusionnantes. Nous nous intéressons principalement aux mesures relatives à l'inventaire tout en considérant d'autres mesures des performances opérationnelles. En utilisant des données de panel extraites de la base de données Compustat et des données sur les fusions et acquisitions horizontales dans le secteur manufacturier, commerce de gros et de détail disponibles dans la base de données SDC Platinum, nous étudions comment la performance (annuelle) après la fusion se compare à la performance (annuelle) avant la fusion. L'analyse est effectuée à deux niveaux différents. Nous examinons d'abord les changements dans la performance absolue. Par la suite, nous étudions la performance relativement à la moyenne du secteur. Nous étendons ensuite notre étude pour tester les effets à long terme (deux ans après la fusion) des fusions, et aussi comparer la performance des entreprises fusionnantes à celle des concurrents similaires non fusionnants. En plus, une analyse de régression multi-variée est effectuée afin d'identifier les facteurs de performance qui affectent significativement la rentabilité des entreprises fusionnantes. Dans le troisième essai, nous évaluons la performance des entreprises fusionnantes suite à des fusions et acquisitions verticales. Nous constatons qu'avec l'amélioration de l'intégration verticale, la performance opérationnelle de l'acquéreur s'est détériorée dans la première année qui suit la transaction. L'effet négatif diminue au fil du temps et il faut normalement au moins deux ans à ces entreprises fusionnantes pour rattraper leurs rivaux. Concernant la performance dans les cinq ans qui suivent les fusions verticales, nous constatons que les entreprises fusionnantes ne gagnent pas un avantage concurrentiel significatif sur la moyenne du secteur.

This study represents an analysis of theoretical frameworks around brand integration strategies after mergers and acquisitions. The theoretical part of the paper is dedicated to the importance of brand equity, motives and advantages of brand acqui-sition and defines possible frameworks for brand integration strategies. A case study has been conducted on the application of the possible brand integration strategies based on an in-depth interview and thorough analysis of the outcomes of a specific acquisition in the domestic appliances industry

This thesis is concerned with acquisition activity in the UK and, specifically the prediction of takeovers. This is an important area for research for three reasons. Firstly, acquisition activity involves a small number of companies but creates very large sums of money. Secondly, acquisition activity can alter the composition of a company or an entire industry very rapidly making it a valuable tool for business. Lastly, there are many different topics within this field, allowing for a wealth of empirical analysis. A considerable amount of early research was limited to observation leaving some theories with little empirical backing. In addition, many earlier papers do not consider economic conditions. Recently the UK has experienced a boom and a recession. Both of these events may have effected acquisition activity and will be incorporated into this study. This thesis tackles several issues concerning acquisitions. Firstly, it deals with the level of acquisition activity and determines whether this behaviour is random or predictable. If it is predictable it should be possible to model this behaviour using appropriate indicators. The second issue is the prediction of takeovers identifying the companies likely to become involved in acquisitions. This study incorporates both accounting data and macro-economic factors. Finally, there is an analysis of acquisition benefits, considering the impact on share prices. The findings here suggest that the level of acquisition activity is predictable. However, in a boom it rises to an unprecedented level, demonstrating bubble-like properties. The empirical work concerning the prediction of acquisitions suggests that takeovers increase firm efficiency and remove poor managers. Furthermore, acquiring companies seek expansion and increased investment opportunities. Examining macro-economic conditions suggests funding and cash flow are important when acquiring in a boom, whilst productivity and market protection are vital in a recession. Finally, it appears that the target firm shareholders benefit irrespective of the outcome of the takeover.

Background: The most common reason to mergers and acquisitions is to generate synergies. Synergies emerge when two collaborating companies show a better result together than they would have done separately. Even though mergers and acquisitions have taken place since the beginning of the 17th century many of them still fail to succeed. There are many reasons why. Despite the fact that the reasons of failure have been known for a long time, new waves of mergers and acquisitions still appear.

Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to contribute with knowledge about what should be given priority, in the merger and acquisition process, to generate synergies and thereby create shareholder value. This is achieved by investigating mergers and acquisitions in Sweden during the period 1996-2001.

Method: The thesis includes both quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative research is calculations made to decide each company’s performances compared to index and the qualitative research is interviews made with representatives from the companies.

Result: There are no superior methods that can guarantee success, however there are certain aspects that always should be given priority. According our research those are among others: thorough due diligence, creating a committee of integration in order to keep focus on core business.

The aim of the thesis is to identify categories and patterns of how customers impact and are impacted by an M&A. In M&A (merger and acquisition) research the focus is traditionally on the M&A parties alone, and while customers are important elements of the motives behind M&As, they are rarely seen as actors affecting and being affected by an M&A. This thesis researches M&As from M&A parties’ and customers’ perspectives. It categorises and connects M&A parties’ activities related to expectations and activities of customers, with customers’ activities at the acquisition point and at integration. Based on findings from eight M&As, the thesis concludes that customers may be the reasons why companies merge or acquire. Customers may react to the M&A announcement if it involves companies the customers do not want to have relationships with, or based on the fact that customers perceive the M&A as turbulent, for instance. Customer actions, and M&A parties reconsidering their initial intentions, affect integration strategies. The realisation of integration is in turn impacted by customers’ resistance to buy according to M&A parties’ intentions and by customers actively objecting to integration. In short, customers impact M&As through: (i) being a reason to merge or acquire, where the M&A aims at acquirer’s or acquired party’s customers, or markets/positions, and where the M&A is a responsive activity to customers’ previous activities or is based on expectations on customers; (ii) customer reactions or changed buying behaviour; (iii) M&A parties’ pre-integration reconsideration; and (iv) post-integration difficulties, whereby customers impact integration realisation through not seeing the benefit of the M&A and thereby continue to buy as previously, through objecting to integration or through dissolving relationships. Customers are impacted by M&As through: (i) the M&A as possibility for change; (ii) ownership changes, which may lead to changes in competition structures; and (iii) forced integration. This means that the impact that customers have on M&As are both results of their own actions, and also of the expectations that the M&A parties have on customers. Important findings from this thesis concern adjustments of initial M&A intentions, how integration may be resisted so as not to challenge ongoing relationships, and how customers (often) make it difficult to achieve initial M&A goals and integration as the customers do not act in accordance with the integration intentions of the parties involved in the M&A.

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
This study centers on the subject of mergers and acquisitions by describing and analyzing the case-study of the acquisition of Carrefour Portugal by Sonae Distribuição. The main objectives of this study are to identify the reasons underlying the decision, to examine how the acquisition fits Sonae Distribuição’s strategy, and to analyze how the integration process is conducted and affects the value created by the acquisition. This case study clarifies that growth through value creation was the main reason behind Sonae’s decision of acquiring Carrefour-Portugal. The acquisition would allow Sonae to reinforce its position as number one in the Portuguese retail market and enlarge its market coverage. Moreover, the acquisition would boost the organic growth of the different business formats of the company. Economies of scale and scope, dimension gains and combination of complementary resources, namely creating stronger product and store portfolios and integrating competences that neither one could achieve alone, are the main potential synergies identified that enabled Sonae to achieve its objectives. The analysis demonstrates that the value created by this deal derives from the strategic fit of the acquisition, considering the strategic pillars of Sonae Distribuição, creating a unique resource complementarity. On the other hand, a successful post-acquisition integration process was conducted. The main aspects identified for this successful process were the effective communication with every stakeholder, the cooperative environment established between the companies from the beginning, and the celerity of the process. Critical aspects such as familiarity with the sector and culture similarity were favorable to the deal, representing a remarkable fit. The complete integration within a single company allowed for the realization of the main synergies that motivated the deal, despite the adverse economic conjuncture.

Date             29 May 2009Program        International Business and Entrepreneurship (IB&E)Course          Master Thesis (EFO705).Authors         Karol Duda, 851010 – T317                    Hong Y Pham, 841117 - T153Tutor             Love BörjessonTitle              Human and Culture integration in Mergers & Acquisitions: A study of Andersen acquisition by KPMG in Vietnam.Research problem: What did KPMG Vietnam do to integrate organizational culture and human resource of Andersen during and after its acquisition in 2002?Purpose         The aim of this research was to focus on culture and human resource dimensions by investigating the case KPMG acquired Andersen in Vietnam in 2002.Method          The conducted methodological stance in this report is interpretive research. The qualitative method has also been utilized. This research has mostly based on primary data in which semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were implemented to collect empirical data related to Andersen Vietnam acquisition. Secondary data from books, journals, websites etc has also been gathered.Conclusion     Although KPMG did not employ every tool suggested by researchers, it was proven to perform fair or good in culture integration dimension

The focus of this thesis is the determinants for synergy realization in a merger or an acquisition. The objective is to describe the actions taken by our case company and relate these to the most important factors in realizing synergies in the new entity. We have chosen to study WM-data; a company widely experienced with merger and acquisition events, which during the last two years have conducted two lager acquisitions with subsequent integrations. Our focus has been last year’s acquisition of Atos Origin Nordic. The data about the event was gathered through interviews with key individuals involved in the acquisition and integration, through a questionnaire distributed amongst a group of employees and through studying published and internal documents covering the event. The model that is used relates combination potential, organizational integration, employee resistance and previous experience to synergy realization. The combination potential is affected by the strategic similarities and complementarities found in the combining companies, both which was found in our case company. Organizational integration is best conducted with a co-competence approach, i.e. a high level of integration through a fast and positive process. Also in this area our case company acted in a way that facilitates synergy realization. High employee resistance can reduce the potential for synergy realization. Actions in the areas of communication, culture and career can reduce resistance. Even if our case company used many of the techniques recommended, some employees still had a negative attitude towards the acquisition. Even more emphasis could have been put on communication about the event and forthcoming career implications. Experience of previous mergers and acquisitions activities can facilitate synergy realization if the combination is taking place in a similar industry setting. Our case company successfully recycled a lot of knowledge from a prior acquisition event, conducted by the Finnish subsidiary. In whole, the case study in this thesis represents a good example of how a company could act to realize synergies in a merger or acquisition. So far, most cost synergies relate to the combination of similar operations. Surprisingly, reducing costs through lay-offs was the primary method to achieve the expected savings. However, this event is still in an early phase, we expect more synergies from the combination to be realized in the future. Key words: mergers and acquisitions, case study, synergy realization, combination potential, organizational integration, employee resistance, M&A experience.

This Thesis examines the impact of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on the subsequent technological performance of the related firms. The investigated firms are selected according to their strategic choice which consists in seeing M&As as a shortcut for acquiring technological assets and capabilities and therefore the subsequent technological performance. The relatedness issue as well as the resource-based view of the firm are theoretical hints, which effectiveness on technological performance is discussed. A more managerial approach using case studies is also used in order to demonstrate a new organisational form of cooperation, derived from strategic alliances and M&As. With the help of the Renault-Nissan Alliance it is argued that this hybrid form presents many capacities for developing a successful integration process, and subsequently enhancing technological performance.

Main interest of this diploma thesis is a transaction known as leveraged acquisition. The goal is to provide detailed overview of these transactions starting from history and development of leveraged acquisitions, key market participants, acquisition financing, leveraged acquisition market and its current trends and analysis of a fictional transaction using advanced financial model. Due to the limited extent of the thesis not all aspects of debt financing and modeling could have been covered in the text.

Cross-national merger and acquisition (M&A) activity is common and is argued to be a strategic tool for the growth of multinational corporations. Yet, M&A activity has a high failure rate which theorists have explained being due to cultural clashes. Previous research has explained these clashes being due to cultural distance. Other studies have focused on the extent to which the firms are culturally integrated and its relation to cultural clashes. In this study we investigate the relation between cultural distance and the extent to which the firms are culturally integrated as we believe that this relation in turn influences how cultural clashes are perceived by managers.

As the human side of M&A has become of great interest within research we stress the importance of understanding what happens with managers in the organization during the post-acquisition process. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to investigate the managers’ perception of cultural clashes, in relation to the perceived extent of cultural integration and perceived cultural distance, in cross-national mergers and acquisitions.

In order to achieve an in-depth understanding of a series of cross-national M&As and to answer the purpose of this thesis, a qualitative case study design was used. Semistandardized interviews were made with ten managers from a Swedish firm that has gone through a series of cross-national M&As involving Swiss, French and German managements.

The findings show that managers’ perception of cultural clashes differs depending on to what extent two firms are culturally integrated and in relation to the cultural distance between the two firms. No matter if high or low cultural distance managers perceive few cul-tural clashes if the extent to which the firms are integrated is low. If the cultural integration, on the other hand, is high and the cultural distance is high, the cultural clashes are perceived as many. Our findings indicate that cultural clashes are perceived differently depend-ing on how they affect the managerial role and the organizational behaviour. We refer to these clashes as implicit agreements and explicit statements. Clashes in implicit agreements are evolved from behaviour deeply rooted in national culture and corporate culture. These clashes have minor effects on the managerial role and the organizational behaviour. Never-theless, managers need to be aware of the differences and adapt to the preferred behaviour when interacting with the acquiring firm’s management. Explicit statements, on the other hand, affect the managerial role and organizational behaviour and lead to cultural clashes that conduce to frustration, lack of motivation and inefficiency. These clashes are more ap-parent when the extent of culturally integration is high. Therefore, the acquiring firm should not attempt to assimilate its target company in cross-national M&As.

Mergers, acquisition, and unemployment have been on the increase in South Africa since 1994 when South Africa became a democratic country. Unemployment is a major challenge facing the South African economy. International researchers have found that in most countries where mergers and acquisitions are encouraged, employees of the acquired companies tend to lose employment in years subsequent to those mergers. This research paper aimed at establishing whether South African employees had similar experiences as those overseas. Altogether 42 listed companies that have been acquired in the period between 1996 and 2008 for the value exceeding R500 million were used for the research. An additional 11 companies not undergoing mergers were also selected. The outcome was that acquired companies negatively affect employment. These companies are able to grow their businesses but not in correlation to growing their workforce.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
unrestricted

This paper examines the relationship between national culture differences and five-day cumulative abnormal returns of acquirers around cross-border merger announcements. The sample consists of 1,200 cross-border deals by frequent acquirers from emerging countries for the period of January 1, 1985 to June 30, 2008. The main objective is to analyze the relation between the difference in Hofstede (1984)’s four cultural dimensions --- power distance, individualism, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance and the merger performance. The results imply the compatibility of some cultural dimensions, individualism in particular, that result in gains in merger. The results also show that the cultural effects vary with the firm size. In addition, the evidence provides support for the hubris hypothesis by Roll (1986).

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2013.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 74-77).
Mergers and acquisitions are important ways for multinational companies to expand and grow their business. This thesis studies the role of product management in the success of mergers and acquisitions by analyzing Eaton's 2008 Phoenixtec Power Company Ltd. acquisition. Using public information, market reports, internal documents and insider interviews, I explore four components of product management in the integration process, including product portfolio management, sales and marketing reorganizations, channel integration and brand architecture. For each component, the objectives of the integration, the methodology used by Eaton and the outcomes are examined. Moreover, the performance of the merged company in terms of sales revenue, profitability, market share, customer satisfaction and employee engagement are analyzed to demonstrate the overall success of this acquisition. My thesis ends with findings and recommendations for building a standard framework to align activities with strategic drivers, maintaining competitive advantages of the acquired company, leveraging the acquired resources to enhance overall capabilities, and respecting and motivating individual talent with local know-how.
by Lijuan Ren.
S.M.

In the last decade, the number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities by emerging market firms has rapidly increased to exploit growing markets at home and abroad. In order to be successful in their M&A goals, these firms need to develop a specific M&A capability and manage post-M&A processes effectively. Drawing on the dynamic capabilities view, I develop a theoretical framework for emerging market acquirers that outlines the development of the acquisition capability mechanisms. I first examine the influence of prior acquisition experience on acquisition performance. I then go on to study the integration capability of emerging market firms and examine the effect of post-M&A integration strategies on the performance of acquisitions by emerging market firms. The overall results indicate that a firm‘s focal acquisition performance positively relates to prior acquisition experience that is similar to the focal acquisition. Moreover, post-M&A integration strategies vary depending on the geographical similarity of the focal acquisition. Replacing the target‘s top manager is a particularly important determinant of acquisition performance in domestic M&A. Finally, in this research, I also extend the organisational learning view and develop a multi-level analysis that examines the role of business groups alongside firm-level learning from acquisitions. The usual focus in emerging market studies is on the big emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC). I focus instead on the country case of Turkey, one of the second tier of ―biggish‖ growing economies of ―MIST‖ (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey). The empirical results are based on a unique hand-collected dataset of acquisitions in Turkey culled from publicly available data. The final dataset consists of 279 acquisitions between 1998 and 2011.

Diploma thesis deals with an analysis of mergers and acquisitions on Czech market with evaluation of its effects. Introduction of the thesis contains glossary of related terms in areas of mergers and acquisitions and definition of motivations of companies to implement change. Thesis is focused on financial market and mostly on bank sector. Following part of the thesis is describing history and evolution of mergers and acquisitions on global market and after that on Czech market with emphasis on change from central planned system to market economics. The biggest added value of the thesis is description of valuation methods for ex post analysis of financial transaction between banks. Financial analysis method, evaluation of different subject's market share or evaluation of merged companies are involved. Some of these methods are used on real case of merger of eBanka and Raiffeisenbank that was finished in 2008.

This thesis examines three important issues in the financial literature strand of M&As. The first analysis regards the field of acquisition target prediction (ATP) and the construction of profitable investment strategies based on identifying prospective targets and investing in their stock. The study introduces novel predictors, which connect market conditions to individual firm targetiveness, but the prediction accuracy does not seem to materially improve when compared to the literature. However, the investment performance of predicted targets is firmly positive, resembling the performance magnitude of actual targets. In a novel construct of rolling estimation, the model seems to have low intertemporality, suggesting opportunistic performance in both prediction accuracy and importance of predicting factors. The second analysis regards the effect of CEO deal experience on deal performance. Based on manually collected data, the CEO experience at the time of the appointment in the firm seems to be insignificant for the returns around the announcement, but long-run returns form an inverse U-shaped relationship with experience, suggesting positive effects from modest experience and exponentially decreasing effects for more experienced CEOs. The significance only for long-run returns suggests that investors have yet to account for the effects of experience on deal performance. As for the relationship pattern, the shift is attributed to the different behaviour expected by CEOs with different levels of experience. Inexperienced CEOs are alert and cautious, deliberating on the appropriate course of action, while more experienced CEOs may rely on their past experience, ignoring the special circumstances of each deal and applying their intuition indiscriminately. The latter behaviour can be classified as overconfident and hubristic. The third analysis focuses on the value creation of large deals (> $500 mil) in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis. For the first time in academic literature, the general population of deals creates positive and significant wealth for acquirer shareholders. This outcome stands contrary to the status quo of the several decades leading up to the crisis, when the average deal was value-destroying for the acquirer. The improvement in returns holds for any type of deal that has been reported to lead to adverse stock performance. This market-wide shift connects to the recent financial crisis of 2008. The economic meltdown brought a stream of regulations in the U.S. market in an attempt to prevent the re-enactment of a similar crisis. The Dodd-Frank act improved several aspects of reporting and accountability for listed firms. The stunning improvement in corporate governance metrics and the ample testing for the effect of different factors suggest that superior corporate governance is the main factor for the new deal-performance standard.

This thesis develops a range of prediction models for the purpose of predicting the acquisition of commercial banks in the European Union using publicly available data. Over the last thirty years, there have been approximately 30 studies that have attempted to identify potential acquisition targets, all of them focusing on non-bank sectors. We consider that prediction models developed specifically for the banking industry are essential due to the unusual structure of banks' financial statements, differences in the environment in which banks operate and other specific characteristics of banks that in general distinguish them from non-financial firms. We focus specifically on the EU banking sector, where M&As activity has been considerable in recent years, yet academic research relating to the EU has been rather limited compared to the case of the US. The methodology for developing prediction models involved identifying past cases of acquired banks and combining these with non-acquired banks in order to evaluate the prediction accuracy of various quantitative classification techniques. In this study, we construct a base sample of commercial banks covering 15 EU countries, and financial variables measuring capital strength, profit and cost efficiency, liquidity, growth, size and market power, with data in both raw and country-adjusted (i.e. raw variables divided by the average of the banking sector for the corresponding country) form. In order to allow for a proper comparative evaluation of classification methods, we select common subsets of the base sample and variables with high discriminatory power, dividing the sample period (1998-2002) into training sub-sample for model development (1998-2000), and holdout sub-sample for model evaluation (2001-2002). Although the results tend to support the findings of studies on non-financial firms, highlighting the difficulties in predicting acquisition targets, the prediction models we develop show classification accuracies generally higher than chance assignment based on prior probabilities. We also consider the use of equal and unequal matched holdout samples for evaluation, and find that overall classification accuracy tends to increase in the unequal matched samples, implying that equal matched samples do not necessarily overstate the prediction ability of models. The main goal of this study has been to compare and evaluate a variety of classification methods including statistical, econometric, machine learning and operational research techniques, as well as integrated techniques combining the predictions of individual classification methods. We found that some methods achieved very high accuracies in classifying non-acquired banks, but at the cost of relatively poor accuracy performance in classifying acquired banks. This suggests a trade-off in achieving high classification accuracy, although some methods (e.g. Discriminant) performed reasonably well in terms of achieving balanced overall classification accuracies of above chance predictions. Integrated prediction models offer the advantage of counterbalancing relatively poor performance of some classification methods with good performance of others, but in doing so could not out-perform all individual classification methods considered. In general, we found that the outcome of which method performed best depended largely on the group classification accuracy considered, as well as to some extent on the choice of the discriminatory variables. Concerning the use of raw or country-adjusted data, we found no clear effect on the prediction ability of the classification methods.

In past decades, the expectation of synergy has fueled many thousands of mergers and acquisitions. Meanwhile, economists and analysts have reported a large proportion of merger failures. This apparent contradiction has provided researchers with a rich source of studies. One of the likely causes of a merger failure is the “people factor”. Revolving around the axis of mergers and acquisitions, the peoples affected are, on the one side, the stockholders, top management, and economists who “talk the project” and tend to have a positive attitude and on the other side, the people who “walk the project” – the employees - who have a more hesitant attitude.This empirical study adopted the construct of Psychological Contracts to measure the expectations of employees who are influenced by mergers and acquisitions. Based on this construct, a model was developed to study employees’ behaviour after a merger, examining it from a multitude of dimensions. Using the PLS-Graph analysis tools, the model was tested with the aim of assessing the factors’ impact on employees’ behaviour. Apart from the direct causal relationship between two variables, the indirect effects caused by other variables are assessed as well.The first contribution made by this research is the fact that it examines the relevance of a psychological contract in a non-Western geographical region. Next, the study clearly confirms some of the existing conceptualizations regarding psychological contracts and reveals some additional insights, particularly in relation to the consideration of psychological contracts in a non-Western socio-cultural context.The research aspires to generalize the model for predicting the post-merger behaviour of employees anywhere, across any industry, business segment and profession.

Background: In the context of rapid market development and globalization, the role of corporate governance has become crucial in determining firm’s direction, control and performance. No substantial investigation has been made to explain the role of corporate governance in the context of widely used strategy for organizational growth – mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Acquisitions of distressed firms represent a particular area within the field of M&A. Distressed firms are characterized by existence-threatening decline in financial performance, and therefore, require  special attention from corporate governance actors in turning the company around from bankruptcy and resuming its normal operations. Despite the fact that a substantial body of literature has been developed on turnaround theory during the last four decades, researchers have mostly been focusing on the content of turnaround strategies and have been studying the cases of single firms. Aim: The purpose of this master thesis is to provide a better conception of the role of corporate governance mechanisms in managing the turnaround process in the context of a distressed firm after its acquisition by a foreign company, and the necessity for corporate executives in initiating post-acquisition integration between these merged companies.  Completions and results: A model of corporate governance within the context of international acquisitions of distressed firms was designed. According to the model, corporate governance mechanisms should assure close communication, clear leadership and its continuity, vision and proper choice of the corporate governance actors. Moreover, corporate governance should reinforce post-acquisition integration between the distressed company and the acquirer. It is important to find a proper level of integration according to each particular case. The major focus in international acquisitions should be on managerial and socio-cultural integration. Consequently, proper post-acquisition integration can facilitate the turnaround process and gaining synergies from combining two organizations.

Announcements of acquisitions of publicly traded companies are usually accompanied by their share price booming by tens of percent. The underlying reason is that the acquirer of the company gains a controlling stake, due to which he can help the company pivot in the desired direction or benefit from synergy effects. A minority investor, by definition, is not capable of doing this, thus he is willing to pay a lower price for the shares than the acquirer of the controlling stake. The thesis analyzes whether a minority shareholder can profit from the acquisition premium by purchasing shares of companies which he believes will be later acquired. The paper consists of two parts - theoretical and analytic. The theoretical part discusses the significance of the acquisition premium and its value, with regard to the type of investor and his motivations for the acquisition. The theoretical part yields into the analytic part, where acquisition waves are tested. It also includes an analysis of individual acquisitions and their underlying reasons, which are grouped into categories in order to find patterns of aquired companies.

Acquisitions for a value of approximately $2 trillion are conducted globally every year with the motives of i.e., enhanced market power and increased shareholder value. Despite the interest in acquisitions the failure rate on acquisitions in 2011 was estimated to 70-90 %. Thus researchers have called for further examination on acquisitions and especially on the acquisition process, and strategic fit and organizational fit, which is believed to facilitate the outcome of the acquisitions. The acquisition process is described as a linear process con- sisting of two sub processes, pre-acquisition and post-acquisition, that acquiring organiza- tions progress through step-wise. The purpose of this study is to examine how the acquisition process and strategic fit and organizational fit can be handled to facilitate successful acquisitions. In order to get a deep and comprehensive understanding of the acquisitions process, the authors of this thesis have conducted a case study. The company, ITAB Shop Concept AB, has a background of 20 successful acquisitions, which have contributed to a steady growth in both turnover and share price. ITAB Shop Concept AB has been researched through in- depth interviews with key persons in the management, responsible for the acquisitions conducted. By adopting a dynamic approach to the acquisition process and taking an overall view of the strategic fit and organizational fit in each phase of the acquisition process, organiza- tions can understand and prevent the possible issues leading to failure. Furthermore organ- izations might benefit from having an acquisition process adapted for each acquisition tar- get. For example it is found that by conducting due-diligence in the post-acquisition pro- cess instead of the pre-acquisition process, and keeping the same persons in the acquisition team, more efficient use of resources and prior experience is facilitated.

Cette thèse se compose de trois essais empiriques qui étudient l'impact de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RSE) dans les opérations de fusions et acquisitions (F&A). Le premier chapitre traite de la relation entre la performance RSE des firmes et leur propension à faire l'objet d'offres de rachats. Nous constatons que la performance RSE des firmes est positivement liée à la probabilité qu'elles ont d'être ciblées dans le cadre d'opérations de F&A, et que la performance RSE des firmes ciblées est supérieure en moyenne à celle d'entreprises similaires mais non-ciblées. Dans le deuxième essai, nous nous intéressons à la relation entre la performance RSE des firmes ciblées dans le cadre d'opérations de F&A et la prime d’acquisition offerte par les acquéreurs. Nous constatons que la performance RSE des firmes ciblées est positivement liée à la prime d'acquisition offerte. Nous constatons que la prime d'acquisition est en partie expliquée par la performance environnementale et la performance sociale, mais que la performance sociale n’a d’impact que dans le cadre des opérations transfrontalières. Enfin, dans le troisième essai, nous analysons l'impact de la performance RSE des acquéreurs sur l'incertitude entourant les opérations de F&A. Nous trouvons une relation négative entre la performance RSE des acquéreurs et le spread d'arbitrage, suggérant que les opérations de F&A menées par des acquéreurs à forte performance RSE sont perçues comme ayant une probabilité accrue de réussite. Globalement, nos résultats suggèrent que la performance RSE détermine de manière statistiquement significative les décisions de F&A et leurs perceptions par les acteurs de marché
This thesis consists of three empirical essays investigating the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In the first essay, we investigate whether the CSR performance of firms impacts their propensity to become M&A targets. We find that the CSR performance of firms is positively related to takeover likelihood. We also show that the CSR performance of target firms is higher on average than the CSR performance of comparable non-target firms. In the second essay, we study the relationship between M&A targets’ CSR performance and the acquisition premium offered by acquirers. We show that CSR is positively and significantly associated with the premium offered by acquirers. We also find that the premium is explained by the environmental and social performances of firms but that social performance only commands a premium in the case of cross-border transactions. Finally, in the third essay, we analyze the impact of acquirers' CSR performance on M&A deal uncertainty. We document a negative association between arbitrage spreads and acquirers' CSR performance, showing that deal uncertainty decreases when M&A operations are initiated by high-CSR acquirers. Overall, our results suggest that CSR performance is a significant determinant of M&A decisions and expected outcomes

Engaged employees contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization’s service to their community. Many organizational leaders struggle to engage their employees before, during, and after organizational mergers. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies 9 leaders from 3 merged higher education organizations in the state of Georgia used to encourage employee engagement when their organizations were merging. The conceptual framework for this study was a combination of the transformational leadership theory, the self-efficacy theory, and the acquisition integration approach. After collecting data through semistructured interviews, organizational documentation, and member checking, data analysis through thematic review and triangulation revealed 4 key themes. The major themes for engaging employees during mergers were: strategies establishing a communication plan; strategies creating a cohesive culture, identity, or team; strategies mitigating barriers to employee engagement; and strategies assessing successful implementation for ongoing modification and adjustment of engagement strategies. The implications of this study for social change are that engaged employees might increase the institution’s productivity in educating students to be more successful in the workforce after graduating, and therefore, have a greater capacity to provide for their families and strengthen their communities.

Even though mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have experienced an upturn during the last three decades, paradoxically two out of three fail to achieve the established objectives because the human side and the complexities it can bring about are most of the times disregarded. In order to grasp those human complexities and facilitate a successful outcome, soft methods could in theory be used. The purpose of this thesis is to bridge the gap between the use of soft methods and an M&A process by taking a broader look at its “soft” aspect in terms of its social and personal dimensions. A case study in the acquisition process experienced by Company Z, a manufacturer of forestry equipment located in Umea, Sweden was conducted. Interviews and documents were the sources of evidence to fulfil a qualitative analysis of the acquisition process, from the acquired point of view, Company Z, in order to comprehend the human complexities raised by this acquisition and find out whether the mentioned company used any kind of soft methods to handle these difficulties or not. The results of the analysis point out that the social and personal dimensions of an acquisition are affected by the process creating diverging and conflicting interests, perceptions, emotions and reactions within the employees. This can hinder the development of the acquisition process. However, no practical evidence was found on the application of soft methods during Company Z acquisition process. Thus, a theoretical framework was developed in order to depict how soft methods could have been applied in Company Z acquisition process.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Glasgow, 1992.
Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Department of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Law, Business and Social Sciences, University of Glasgow, 1992. Includes bibliographical references. Print version also available.

Cette thèse comprend trois chapitres sur les conflits d’intérêts des intermédiaires qui agissent en tant que conseillers en fusions et acquisitions. Nous fournissons dans le Chapitre 1 une synthèse de la littérature académique sur la double négotiation en compte propre et client des intermédiaires de marché. Tout d’abord, nous présentons un aperçu de cette activité, puis explorons des questions comme qui s’engage dans cette activité, pourquoi et les principales préoccupations concernant les conflits d’intérêts. Dans le Chapitre 2, nous effectuons une analyse empirique axée sur l’aspect fusions et acquisitions de la problématique de recherche. Enfin, dans le Chapitre 3 nous étudions le rôle des intermédiaires qui agissent en tant que conseillers financiers dans les transactions de fusions et acquisitions. Nous y parvenons grâce à une analyse empirique d’un échantillon où nous pouvons identifier, autour de l’annonce, dans quelles transactions un conseiller a été impliqué. Les résultats démontrent une création de valeur dans les cibles de fusions et acquisitions le jour de l’événement, la présence du trading informé et d’une fuite d’informations avant l’annonce particulièrement forte pour les transactions dans lesquelles un conseiller était impliqué. Notre analyse nous permet de surligner l’importance de prendre en compte l’aspect réglementaire des opérations de fusions et acquisitions
This thesis contains three chapters on conflicts of interest of intermediaries that act as financial advisors in mergers and acquisitions. We provide in Chapter 1 a survey of academic literature on dual trading activity. First, we present an overview of this activity and then explore questions like who engages in this activity, why, and the main concerns regarding conflicts of interest. In Chapter 2, we conduct an empirical analysis focusing on the mergers and acquisitions aspect of the research problem. Finally, in Chapter 3 we investigate the role of intermediaries who act as financial advisors in M&As deals. We achieve this through an empirical analysis of a sample where we can identify, around the announcement, in which deals an advisor was involved. We found evidence of value creation in targets of Mergers and Acquisitions on the event day, of informed trading and leakage of information before the announcement particularly strong for deals in which an advisor was involved and showed evidence that advocate for the importance of taking into account the regulatory aspect of mergers and acquisitions operations

Corporate acquisitions can provide an effective mechanism for maintaining growth in conditions of technological uncertainty, but typically suffer very high failure rates. This thesis presents a resource-based framework for analysing corporate acquisitions in times of rapid technological change. The thesis discusses how such acquisitions can be used to access resources that are of immediate use, but also enhance the acquirer's ability to access resources in the future.

This thesis consists of four essays or chapters that investigate acquisitions made by UK firms. The main focus of the research is the acquirers’ abnormal returns that are associated with the announcement of domestic and cross-border acquisitions. The research provides empirical evidence on some of the significant issues that have been raised in the literature, particularly focusing on measuring operating performance for domestic and cross-border acquisitions over the long-term. The first essay investigates acquirers’ announcement abnormal returns for acquisitions that have been conducted by UK firms, either domestically or internationally. The principal finding is that acquisitions of domestic firms appear to generate larger returns, whereas acquisitions classified as cross-border do not appear to add value to the acquiring firm. The second essay examines the characteristics of the deal, and how these impact the acquirers’ returns for both domestic and cross-border acquisitions. The characteristics considered are the method of payment, the industrial relationship between the acquirer and the target, the relative size of the acquirer to the target, the type of the target firm and the Book-to-Market ratio of the acquiring firm. The third essay investigates the directors’ overconfidence and its impact on the acquirers’ returns. Directors’ overconfidence is examined depending on the self-attribution bias by distinguishing between the abnormal returns to frequent and infrequent acquirers. The fourth essay examines insider trading via studying the relationship between the private investment decisions of the directors and the firm’s investment in respect of acquisitions it makes over the announcement date of the acquisition. Two different methods are proposed to classify directors into optimistic and neutral based on these personal portfolio trades. The fifth empirical chapter focuses on domestic and cross-border acquisitions with public targets, and studies their synergy gains and operating performance for a 3-year period after the announcement year. The aim is to try to understand what these firms gain from such acquisitions, given the apparent absence of a gain in value at the announcement of the investment. It is essential to add that the importance of this thesis comes from shedding a light on the role of acquisition activity in UK market within last 10 years domestically and internationally. Furthermore, providing a significant advice to firms not to allocate their capital in acquisitions with public targets because there is not benefit from investing in these types of investment.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the corporate world are achieving increasing importance and attention especially in the advent of intense globalization. This is evident from the magnitude and growth of deal values and resultant ‘mega-mergers’ transacted in recent times. As expert advisory are sought in M&A activities to facilitate the undertaking and maximise the value of the transaction, advisory firms begin to play a more significant and at the same time lucrative role in M&A activities, to the extent of determining the outcome of such projects. Being an area of limited research, it is thus valuable to investigate what M&A advisory firms view as critical success factors to the projects they undertake. Consequently, the research question of “What are the critical success factors for merger & acquisition projects in the view of merger & acquisition advisory firms” has been raised. A list of ten critical success factors for M&A projects is firstly identified from an extensive literature review. These factors are (1) Complete and Clear objectives, goals and scope of the project, (2) Client consultation and acceptance, (3) Project manager’s competence and commitment, (4) Project team member’s competence and commitment, (5) Communication and information sharing and exchange, (6) Project plan development, (7) M&A advisory firm’s resource planning, (8) Time management and tight secrecy, (9) Price evaluation and financing scheme, and (10) Risk management.

In an attempt to explore the importance of each factor in the practical context, data have been collected through three research methods. Primarily, the authors conduct a semi-structured interview with six interviewees currently working in three organizations which provide professional services related to M&A projects. Meanwhile, a self-completion questionnaire method is employed, following which a sample of 325 M&A advisory firms based in the U.S. is selected to participate in an online survey. In addition, the authors follow a case study approach based on the three organizations of the six interviewees in order to establish comprehensive knowledge about issues relating to M&A projects.

In response to the research question, the findings strongly indicate that seven out of ten factors in the original list have a positive impact, being the factors listed above as (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (8), and (9). On the other hand, it revealed the lesser importance of the other three. In addition, three new factors have been discovered from analyzing the data collected, being (i) Having a number of key potential buyers with suitable profile (ii) Right, correct and complete information and data in the data room, and (iii) The quality of the selling company. While as another outcome of this research, further practical insights have been provided regarding the role of M&A advisory firms, the M&A process, common issues faced by M&A projects and the success criteria for M&A projects.

The findings from this research contribute valuable new knowledge to both researchers and practitioners in both project management and M&A fields, while facilitating the achievement of successful M&A projects.

Today’s fast-paced and global market has added pressure on firm’s to constantly strengthen their competitive advantage. Over the last couple of years, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have become an increasingly used strategy for firms to acquire resources that cannot be developed internally. However, M&As often fail to achieve the initial purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate two research questions; RQ1: What are the effects on employees in a newly created multicultural team that is the outcome of a merger between two firms? and RQ2: How can managers manage these effects, in order to create a successful team integration?To gain understanding of the phenomena, and their respective connections, qualitative research has been conducted. Through a multiple case study design, and data collection in the form of interviews, empirical data was obtained. In total eight interviews were conducted with individuals originating from different roles and acquired firms. Their experiences and emotions were later analysed through thematic analysis and coding.The findings of this study add an additional layer to the conclusions of previous studies within the area of multicultural team integration, post-acquisition. Well-communicated integration strategies have been deemed important; this study confirms that statement. However, the findings of this study provide evidence that transparency should be considered an important dimension of the communication strategy, in order to increase employee satisfaction.

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) are public shell entities uniquely constructed to acquire one or more privately held businesses. The transaction's structural characteristics put significant pressure on the management team's capabilities to find a suitable company to acquire within the predetermined time frame. This thesis investigates whether management team characteristics, such as operating experience and gender diversity, increases the likelihood of success in identifying the target company and conducting the merger. Although not statistically significant, the results indicate that SPACs led by “C-suite” operators do not have a higher likelihood of successfully consummating a business combination. Furthermore, our data indicates gender diversity to have a positive impact on acquisition likelihood.
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) är publika skalbolag konstruerade enkom i syfte att förvärva ett eller flera privata bolag. Transaktionen lägger stor vikt på ledningens förmåga att identifiera och förvärva en eller flera verksamheter inom en förbestämd tidsram. Studien undersöker huruvida relevanta karaktärsdrag i ledningsgruppen, såsom operationell erfarenhet och skillnader i kön, ökar sannolikheten att identifiera och förvärva dessa bolag. Resultatet av studien påvisar inget samband mellan operationell erfarenhet och ökad sannolikhet för förvärv, men däremot visar sig skillnader i kön inom ledningsgruppen ha en positiv inverkan på sannolikheten för förvärv. Sammantaget är resultaten dock inte statistiskt signifikanta.

In the first chapter of this dissertation, I hypothesize that several non-tax-driven benefits of debt induce REITs managers to issue debt despite no apparent tax-driven benefit. Several methodologies and tests applied in capital structure literature are introduced to the literature of REITs capital structure. First, I investigate how the market prices leverage in absence of tax-deductibility benefit. Then, I diagnose the relative importance of several non-tax-driven benefits of leverage in deriving the capital structure decisions of REITs. Third, I conduct a thought investment experiment with debt-restricted vs. non-restricted REITs portfolios. I find weak evidence that leverage, by itself, creates value. Nevertheless, I find strong evidence that during financial crisis debt-restricted REITs perform better than non-restricted ones. Also I find evidence that lends support to the pecking order story of leverage. I conclude that REITs managers issue debt mainly to avoid issuing equity and to maximize wealth of existing shareholders. The second chapter addresses corporate diversification discount. I present and test a hypothesis that diversifiers exchange immediate diversification discount with future value gain attributed to unanticipated financial and strategic advantages of diversification. Two implications of this hypothesis are tested in this dissertation. First, the initial diversification discount found in static methodologies should be attenuated in a dynamic analysis. Second, diversifier's value evolution patterns are driven by the materialization of certain financial and strategic efficiencies. The overall results indicate that there is value recovery over time. Diversifiers' performance and value evolution is dynamically linked to synchronous improvements in market power, internal capital market activities, and cost efficiencies. Further, consistent with current evidence in diversification literature, related diversifiers outperform unrelated diversifiers. Moreover, related diversifiers witness faster value recovery relative to unrelated diversifiers.

In past decades, the expectation of synergy has fueled many thousands of mergers and acquisitions. Meanwhile, economists and analysts have reported a large proportion of merger failures. This apparent contradiction has provided researchers with a rich source of studies. One of the likely causes of a merger failure is the “people factor”. Revolving around the axis of mergers and acquisitions, the peoples affected are, on the one side, the stockholders, top management, and economists who “talk the project” and tend to have a positive attitude and on the other side, the people who “walk the project” – the employees - who have a more hesitant attitude.
This empirical study adopted the construct of Psychological Contracts to measure the expectations of employees who are influenced by mergers and acquisitions. Based on this construct, a model was developed to study employees’ behaviour after a merger, examining it from a multitude of dimensions. Using the PLS-Graph analysis tools, the model was tested with the aim of assessing the factors’ impact on employees’ behaviour. Apart from the direct causal relationship between two variables, the indirect effects caused by other variables are assessed as well.
The first contribution made by this research is the fact that it examines the relevance of a psychological contract in a non-Western geographical region. Next, the study clearly confirms some of the existing conceptualizations regarding psychological contracts and reveals some additional insights, particularly in relation to the consideration of psychological contracts in a non-Western socio-cultural context.
The research aspires to generalize the model for predicting the post-merger behaviour of employees anywhere, across any industry, business segment and profession.

“All marriages are happy. It’s the living together afterwards that causes all the trouble.” - Raymond Hull, Canadian Playwright. Although Mergers and Acquisitions are common, no merger is termed as successful until post merger integration is successful. During M&A, two companies that function uniquely are fused together, and the Information Technology group is expected to consolidate two different systems efficiently. This integration should be well-executed, and without any disruption to business or customers. Every merger is different, and can have innumerable reasons for failure, ranging from poor implementation strategies to cultural or attitudinal problems. One of the reasons, many Post-Merger Integration activities fail, is due to the Information Technology complexity and inadequacy to address the issues, it brings to the table. This thesis aims at studying the importance of post-merger Information Technology (IT) integration and developing an IT strategy for the integration. There are no scientific guidelines laid out for a post-merger IT integration and each company employs its own methods. Hence the author has researched and developed a post-merger IT integration framework that can give definitive approach and assist in seamless integration. This framework includes practices that can be followed for a smooth IT transition and checklist to ensure successful integration. Lastly the author presents two cases of M&A that illustrate the importance of IT integration, namely, Sallie Mae- USA Group and HP-Compaq. Sallie Mae & USA Group was a huge success due to its successful IT integration implementation while HP-Compaq merger was a disappointment for the lack of understanding the importance of IT integration. From these two cases, the author has also derived the usefulness of the proposed framework. Author has also presented another case of Oracle-Sun merger, which does an analysis of the IT integration carried out by the two companies. It would not be unwise to say, that IT plays an ever increasing pervasive role in today’s organizations, hence a successful merger demands successful IT integration.
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The main purpose of this dissertation is to study a recent market rumor about BlackBerry’s acquisition by the rival company Samsung and whether this deal would be good for both parties. The main goal is not only to understand if they will have a higher value together but also to understand how this Merger & Acquisition (M&A) deal would affect the entire industry. In a recent past, Samsung was discussing with Apple the leadership of the market. They had big judicial fights related with patent’s issues and Samsung was fined in millions of dollars. Moreover, a few years ago BlackBerry was one of the market leaders mainly due to the features they offered to executive clients, which were very exclusive and that made them leaders in the corporate segment. They also have a valuable portfolio with more than forty four thousand patents. Therefore, this deal looks like a perfect “marriage” between the two giants in an industry that is very aggressive regarding competition, requiring huge investments and where every detail counts. In the end I present a confrontation between the acquisition scenario that was rumored by the press in past January, and the actual scenario of partnerships taking place between Samsung and BlackBerry.