Challenge the Ordinary

Chapter TenFailsafe Steps for Extraordinary M&A Growth

When companies merge or acquire, stakeholders usually expect that the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts. Unfortunately, the facts tell a different story. One plus one does not equal three; too often it moves shareholder returns to the wrong side of zero. A once-exceptional organization can quickly take a turn toward mediocrity or, worse, demise if leaders don’t plan meticulously, acquire intelligently, evaluate assiduously, and integrate attentively.

Study after study puts the failure rate of mergers and acquisitions between 70 and 90 percent. Many researchers have tried to explain those abysmal statistics, usually by analyzing the characteristics of deals that worked and those ...