Winning at Mergers and Acquisitions : The Guide to Market Focused Planning and Integration

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Summary: As real as it gets!
Review: Anonymous reviewers bashing this masterpiece obviously have another agenda in mind. This book isn't a novel that one simply likes or dislikes. The publishing of this book was a watershed event. It's a literary classic that introduced the M&A world to so many cutting edge and revolutionary ideas that without exception, the top consulting firms in the world have embraced the disciplinary framework presented in this book and employ it on a daily basis. Interorganizational design, marketing due diligence, revenue enhancement opportunities -- one pearl after another. Their work is neither a fad nor shameless self-promotion. It's clearly the methodology of two of the brightest minds in the M&A world. Why they shared such proprietary information with the public is a question for their agent. But since it is now in the public domain, we can all benefit. This book is now a staple at the top business schools and heralded by employees from PWC to Goldman. I guess its real-world application says it all.

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Summary: Don't do a deal without it!
Review: Finally, a book that covers both sides of the acquisition --the necessary pre-deal planning and the critical post-deal integration. The authors' methodological framework, which stresses marketing due diligence and focuses on revenue synergies, is groundbreaking. Reading this book will increase the odds of success for anyone involved in a merger or acquisition. --Thomas Waimes

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Summary: Mind expanding, bold, innovative-- and practical
Review: I agree with the anonymous reader's review that praises Clemente and Greenspan's organization skills. Winning at Mergers and Acquisititions is not only insightful, it is indeed very well written. Most other M&A titles are fairly dry. To eliminate that possibility, the authors have included detailed case studies of what has worked and what hasn't. At appropriate points they've added quotes from industry leaders (the "insider's outlook")that reinforce the effectiveness of the detailed guidance. These comments aren't anonymous. They come from senior executives at Fortune 500 firms including Hoffman-LaRoche, Citibank, IBM, ATT, and Seimens as well as from CEOs of companies with only 1000 employees. Clemente & Greenspan have indeed given the M&A world some radical methods of ensuring M&A success. These two gentlemen have stood the accepted due diligence dogma on its head by quantifying the previously non-quantifiable aspects of the deal. The second half of the book takes integration to new heights with some of their cutting edge practices. Interestingly, it's a little light in the checklist department --pretty much every book provides that standard fare -- instead the reader is literally walked through deal after deal in the areas of due diligence, analysis, strategy, culture, product alignment, communication, etc. which turns the reader into a walking checklist. In the last few years, I've observed members of the big five and boutique consultants alike embracing the various methodologies first introduced in this book. Apparently, knowledge moves slow within the M&A world. These gentlemen are finally getting their due now. I applaud their work and this book which will stand the test of time as a classic in the M&A pantheon. As the esteemed editor of Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine, Martin Sikora, describes its contents in the book's foreword, "Less a paradigm than a disciplinary framework of values, it synthesizes the realistic issues that must be managed in keeping a combining firm plugged into its marketplace and its customer base."

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Summary: Well put together and soundly presented
Review: I just got this book as a gift. WOW!!!!!! It's very well written and the ideas are refreshing compared with the beancounter approach of all the accountant types who crush companies, cut the staff in half, and gut the core. We all know companies that have just thrown away the wrong people and slashed all their expenses (especially marketing) to make the numbers work so they can get their stock to budge or the consultants/Investment bankers to pocket their success fees. This book shows in a very sly way how corrupt the entire M&A world is. Show me a merger and I'll show you a greedy CEO or soul-less investment banker. This book provides helpful solutions to making the worst possible combinations work and pulls back the curtain on the scam of so many business analysts and beancounters who always claim"It's only business; it's not personal." Last time I heard that, I was fired.

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Summary: The Best Book Ever Written about M&A
Review: I love this book. The concept of marketing due diligence is not only brilliant but works in practice. As the authors stress, "doesn't it just make sense to focus on the people, products and processes of a company before during and after the deal." This is a big book - in size and content. It gets in-depth about all the areas it discusses. Many other books on M&A offer up a paragraph or two in addressing an issue. You're left with a crumb. Probably because they've never really done it. Clemente and Greenspan have obviously taken their real-life experiences and written about them -- in detail...case study after case study. Real life corporate officers are quoted, discussing what works and what doidn't. The level of honesty is groundbreaking in itself.There's very little that's theoretical or lacking real-world application. Due diligence, strategic thinking, analyzing the business environment, culture from every angle, driving revenues...it's all here, in depth and with step by step guidance. It's a wonderful source that I keep on my shelf and use a couple of times a week. This book is truly the M&A bible.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book Ever Written about M&A
Review: I love this book. The concept of marketing due diligence is not only brilliant but works in practice. As the authors stress, "doesn't it just make sense to focus on the people, products and processes of a company before during and after the deal." This is a big book - in size and content. It gets in-depth about all the areas it discusses. Many other books on M&A offer up a paragraph or two in addressing an issue. You're left with a crumb. Probably because they've never really done it. Clemente and Greenspan have obviously taken their real-life experiences and written about them -- in detail...case study after case study. Real life corporate officers are quoted, discussing what works and what doidn't. The level of honesty is groundbreaking in itself.There's very little that's theoretical or lacking real-world application. Due diligence, strategic thinking, analyzing the business environment, culture from every angle, driving revenues...it's all here, in depth and with step by step guidance. It's a wonderful source that I keep on my shelf and use a couple of times a week. This book is truly the M&A bible.

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Summary: The difference between WINNING and losing!
Review: I'm in the midst of my third acquisition in two years. I have bought virtually every advisory book on M&A to help me get it right -- The Art of ...; Five Frogs...; Joining Forces, etc. While all of those were entertaining, in the final analysis, they were not really helpful in delivering results to my organization. Winning at Mergers and Acquisitions consistently addresses the real issues I've encountered through all the phases of M&A with viable solutions and profound instruction. Again and again, when I've been faced with a due diligence quandary or an integration roadblock, this book has accurately and coherently helped me and my company advance toward M&A success. These gentlemen invented a concept called marketing due diligence which transcends every other discovery mechanism we have used. They also focus on driving revenues which I found we urgently needed to do after our first acquisition failed to live up to its promise. This book has saved my company millions and probably secured my job in the process. If there is one book that will make a difference in the vast sea of M&A literature, it is Winning at Mergers & Acquisitions. Thank you gentlemen.

Rating:
Summary: The difference between WINNING and losing!
Review: I'm in the midst of my third acquisition in two years. I have bought virtually every advisory book on M&A to help me get it right -- The Art of ...; Five Frogs...; Joining Forces, etc. While all of those were entertaining, in the final analysis, they were not really helpful in delivering results to my organization. Winning at Mergers and Acquisitions consistently addresses the real issues I've encountered through all the phases of M&A with viable solutions and profound instruction. Again and again, when I've been faced with a due diligence quandary or an integration roadblock, this book has accurately and coherently helped me and my company advance toward M&A success. These gentlemen invented a concept called marketing due diligence which transcends every other discovery mechanism we have used. They also focus on driving revenues which I found we urgently needed to do after our first acquisition failed to live up to its promise. This book has saved my company millions and probably secured my job in the process. If there is one book that will make a difference in the vast sea of M&A literature, it is Winning at Mergers & Acquisitions. Thank you gentlemen.

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Summary: Not realistic - not practical
Review: I've spent nearly 20 years doing mergers and acquisitions. I keep up with all the M&A books on the market. First off, the basic content here is good and its difficult to disagree with the ideas. But, mostly they are just ideas. If you tried to do everything the authors talk about it would take forever to get anything done, if you ever got a deal done. Some things sound good in theory but don't pass muster in the real world. This book is like that. Its hard to believe the authors have much real world experience, because so much of what they recommend lacks the ring of practicality.

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Summary: Real world applications
Review: Many of the business recommendations in this book transcend the world of M&A. The organizational analysis and instruction is right on point. I have been in operations most of my career and have found a lot of the actions items very helpful on a daily basis. Most people don't look at mergers from a market-focused viewpoint. The ideas put forth by the authors really made me think very differently about my company and about how to drive operational change. This book is a great blend of theory and practical application.