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

Rating:
Summary: The Integration Bible
Review: When Charles Harris says this is a great book, he is understating the truth. What a fabulous creation. I'd heard of the work performed by Clemente and Greenspan, and read their article on Marketing Due Diligence in the Harvard Management Review. But not till I read this classic from cover to cover did I fully realize the depth of their guidance and the extent of their groundbreaking contributions to the corporate world. The lessons contained in EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER are so informative and instructive that I was genuinely saddened when the experience was over. The book is very well written and so reader friendly that it stands apart from every other book on this subject that I have read. I picked up another copy as a gift for my CEO. If half of it sinks in, we'll never blow another acquisition ever again. I've been transformed by this M&A bible and only wished I had read it sooner.

Rating:
Summary: fascinating and stimulating
Review: Winning at Mergers is a brilliant book. It is not an ABC of M&A. As a former investment banker, I can see how it might turn off those consumed with completing transactions. Several chapters advise against doing deals that would undermine the success of the combined entity. That's a somewhat radical concept considering accountants and bankers have a singular objective in mind when faced with a corporate marriage. This book is ideal for graduate business courses. It takes the reader from the basic M&A 101 accounting-focused level to a broader and more business-focused level. That's what makes it stand out. It's more a book about successful business than number crunching. This book focuses on real-world challenges and operational factors to help a deal move from strategy through completion. It is divided into three parts: strategy; pre-deal (due diligence, etc.); and integration. The chapters on culture, organizational design and integration tactics make it worth the price of admission. No other book that I have read takes this approach. From the detail provided at every step of the way, the guidance seems tried, tested and improved upon. The book is also very well written. Interesting and filled with case studies and quotes that make the insights fresh. As another reviewer suggested, it is the perfect companion book to a dryer and more elementary book like Patrick Gaughin's. Without the insights of Clemente and Greenspan, one ventures into M&A with only a rudimentary understanding of what it truly takes to make a deal work and a company succeed. I recommend this book as a business tool and a reality check on whether one is even approaching transactions correctly.

Rating:
Summary: fascinating and stimulating
Review: Winning at Mergers is a brilliant book. It is not an ABC of M&A. As a former investment banker, I can see how it might turn off those consumed with completing transactions. Several chapters advise against doing deals that would undermine the success of the combined entity. That's a somewhat radical concept considering accountants and bankers have a singular objective in mind when faced with a corporate marriage. This book is ideal for graduate business courses. It takes the reader from the basic M&A 101 accounting-focused level to a broader and more business-focused level. That's what makes it stand out. It's more a book about successful business than number crunching. This book focuses on real-world challenges and operational factors to help a deal move from strategy through completion. It is divided into three parts: strategy; pre-deal (due diligence, etc.); and integration. The chapters on culture, organizational design and integration tactics make it worth the price of admission. No other book that I have read takes this approach. From the detail provided at every step of the way, the guidance seems tried, tested and improved upon. The book is also very well written. Interesting and filled with case studies and quotes that make the insights fresh. As another reviewer suggested, it is the perfect companion book to a dryer and more elementary book like Patrick Gaughin's. Without the insights of Clemente and Greenspan, one ventures into M&A with only a rudimentary understanding of what it truly takes to make a deal work and a company succeed. I recommend this book as a business tool and a reality check on whether one is even approaching transactions correctly.