Mergers & Acquisitions

Master's Thesis from the year 2002 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,0, South Bank University London (International Business), language: English, abstract: Inhaltsangabe:Abstract:§There is a wide body of evidence that suggests that the management of human and cultural factors in post-M&A implementation is important and, where it is badly managed, helps to explain why up to two thirds of M&A deals are not deemed to be successful. §This master dissertation discusses, investigates, and reports on research of essentials which make an integration process in mergers and acquisitions successful. The focus of the project is on the consideration of human resource management and cultural integration concerning the pre as well as post-M&A phase. Indeed, integration starts already in the pre-M&A phase with an intensive human capital and cultural due diligence. Thoroughly selected key employees and a highly skilled communication program might be fundamental keeping on the right track. The discussion about cultural integration includes cultural fit, cultural change and managing across national cultures in mergers and acquisitions. Furthermore, a comparison of international human resource management practices in mergers and acquisitions provides some interesting issues in that field. §The factors discussed are based on a wide range of literature corroborated by some empirical findings published by international business consultants and scientists. Ultimately, the absolutely core message of this research is the issue that a comprehensive and sophisticated pre and post-M&A integration management leads to a successful transaction.§Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents:§AcknowledgementI§AbstractII§Table of ContentsIII§IllustrationsV§List of AppendicesVI§1.Introduction1§2.Research structure4§2.1Aims of research4§2.2Usefulness of the study4§2.3Research objectives5§3.Methodology6§3.1Research methods6§3.2Data collection and analysis7§3.3Propositions8§4.Principles of mergers & acquisitions9§4.1The nature of M&A9§4.1.1Terms9§4.1.2Types10§4.1.3Reasons11§4.1.4Cross-border M&A13§4.2History15§4.3The M&A process18§5.Success factors of mergers & acquisitions22§5.1Successful in business logic23§5.2Get the right understanding of the new business23§5.3Faultless deal management24§5.4Optimal integration and corporate development25§6.The integration process before and after the deal closes27§6.1The Pre-M&A integration phase27§6.1.1Identifying and planning integration27§6.1.2Integration starts with due diligence28§6.1.2.1Human capital due diligence30§6.1.2.2Cultural due diligence32§6.2The Post-M&A integration phase38§6.2.1Integration of functional areas38§6.2.2Human resource integration management40§6.2.2.1Selecting key employees40§6.2.2.2Communication44§6.2.3Cultural integration48§6.2.3.1Cultural fit48§6.2.3.2An effective integration program for cultural change51§6.2.3.3Managing integration across national cultures56§6.3International human resource management practices in mergers & acquisitions61§6.4M&A integration controlling65§6.4.1Four areas for measure integration65§6.4.2Methods to measure HR success67§7.Conclusion71§References75§Appendices81