Deals from Hell

A detailed look at the worst M&A deals ever and the lessons learned from them It's common knowledge that about half of all merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions destroy value for the buyer's shareholders, and about three-quarters fall short of the expectations prevailing at the time the deal is announced. In Deals from Hell, Robert Bruner, one of the foremost thinkers and educators in this field, uncovers the real reasons for these mishaps by taking a closer look at twelve specific instances of M&A failure. Through these real-world examples, he shows readers what went wrong and why, and converts these examples into cautionary tales for executives who need to know how they can successfully navigate their own M&A deals. These page-turning business narratives in M&A failure provide much-needed guidance in this area of business. By addressing the key factors to M&A success and failure, this comprehensive guide illustrates the best ways to analyze, design, and implement M&A deals. Filled with in-depth insights, expert advice, and valuable lessons gleaned from other M&A transactions, Deals from Hell helps readers avoid the common pitfalls associated with this field and presents them with a clear framework for thinking about how to make any M&A transaction a success.

A detailed look at the worst M&A deals ever and the lessonslearned from themIt's common knowledge that about half of all merger and acquisition(M&A) transactions destroy value for the buyer's shareholdersand about three-quarters fall short of the expectations prevailingat the time the deal is announced. In Deals from Hell, RobertBruner, one of the foremost thinkers and educators in this fielduncovers the real reasons for these mishaps by taking a closer lookat twelve specific instances of M&A failure. Through thesereal-world examples, he shows readers what went wrong and why, andconverts these examples into cautionary tales for executives whoneed to know how they can successfully navigate their own M&Adeals. These page-turning business narratives in M&A failureprovide much-needed guidance in this area of business. Byaddressing the key factors to M&A success and failure, thiscomprehensive guide illustrates the best ways to analyze, designand implement M&A deals. Filled with in-depth insights, expertadvice, and valuable lessons gleaned from other M&Atransactions, Deals from Hell helps readers avoid the commonpitfalls associated with this field and presents them with a clearframework for thinking about how to make any M&A transaction asuccess.

Foreword by Arthur Levitt, Jr.Acknowledgments.1. Introduction.I. The Foundations of M&A Failure.2. Where M&A Pays and Where It Strays:A Survey ofResearch.3. Profiling the Outlying M&A Deals.4. Real Disasters and M&A Failure.II. Case Studies of M&A Failure.5. February 1968: Merger of the Pennsylvania and New YorkCentral Railroads.6. December 1986: The Leveraged Buyout of Revco DrugStores.7. September 1989: The Acquisition of Columbia Picturesby Sony Corporation.8. September 1991: The Acquisition of NCR Corporation byAT&T Corporation.9. December 1993: Renault's Proposed Merger withVolvo.10. December 1994: The Acquisition of Snapple by QuakerOats.11. May 1999: Mattel's Acquisition of The LearningCompany.12. January 2001: Merger of AOL and Time Warner.13. December 2001: Dynegy's Proposed Merger withEnron.14. January 2002: Acquisition Program of TycoInternational.III. Avoiding the Deal from Hell.15. Conclusions and Implications.16. Memo to the CEO:A Coda on Growth.References.About the Author.Index.