Chapter 1

 

Basic Concepts 

 

Mergers and acquisitions represent the ultimate in change for a business. No other event is more difficult, challenging, or chaotic as a merger and acquisition. It is imperative that everyone involved in the process has a clear understanding of how the process works. Hopefully this short course will provide you with a better appreciation of what is involved.

 

You might be asking yourself, why do I need to learn the merger and acquisition (M & A) process? Well for starters, mergers and acquisitions are now a normal way of life within the business world. In today's global, competitive environment, mergers are sometimes the only means for long-term survival. In other cases, such as Cisco Systems, mergers are a strategic component for generating long-term growth. Additionally, many entrepreneurs no longer build companies for the long-term; they build companies for the short-term, hoping to sell the company for huge profits. In her book The Art of Merger and Acquisition Integration, Alexandra Reed Lajoux puts it best:

 

“Virtually every major company in the United States today has experienced a major acquisition at some point in history. And at any given time, thousands of these companies are adjusting to post-merger reality. For example, so far in the decade of the 1990's (through June 1997), 96,020 companies have come under new ownership worldwide in deals worth a total of $ 3.9 trillion - and that's just counting acquisitions valued at $ 5 million and over. Add to this the many smaller companies and nonprofit and governmental entities that experience mergers every year, and the M & A universe becomes large indeed.”