Successful Acquisitions

FROM BEGINNING TO BEGINNING

I want to completely change how you see M&A. Experience has convinced me that the field is radically misunderstood by most people outside of it and by an alarming number of those who actually manage acquisitions. That 77 percent failure rate has nothing to do with luck. It is the telltale statistic of widespread ignorance.

I often encounter clients who tell me, “Yes, we have an in-house M&A expert. . . .” It turns out the expert really does know a lot—about due diligence, or company valuation, or negotiation. The problem is that a chef who has mastered only pastries is unlikely to run a profitable restaurant.

Buying a company successfully depends on knowing more than one piece well. It requires your mastery of an entire ...