Introductory description

More than ever, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity tops executive suite agendas. Today’s grand challenges push companies to swiftly respond and reconfigure their corporate portfolio. Becoming ever more important as a strategic instrument, M&A secure survival, promote long-term growth, and help companies pivot toward sustainable competitive advantage. Yet, few firms muster the capability to transform through M&A, strategic alliances, and divestitures. With the competitive landscape changing rapidly, both strategic acquirers and private equity are moving toward fostering purposeful growth by pursuing economic and social value. Whereas strategic acquirers manage multiple business units through a corporate center (or strategy/corporate staff department), private equity organizations organize and manages M&A differently. This course provides participants with key insights and understanding on how executive skills and behavior matter to succeed in M&A, alliances, and divestitures and how these activities matter to performance and the firm’s role in addressing today’s grand challenges.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Corporate Strategy and M&A
Paths to growth
Acquisition programs
Value creation in integration and divestitures
Private Equity— Performance, Governance, Incentives
Valuation, Process and Tactics
Corporate Governance and Purpose
Governing for Growth

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of M&A process and M&A design
• Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of how a firm’s corporate strategy, scope, and corporate development relate
• Appreciate the role and impact of regulators and governments
• Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of when to engage in what type of corporate development activity, i.e., organic, alliance-based, acquisitive growth
• Demonstrate thorough understanding of key dynamics of buy- and sell-side strategies
• Assess and meaningfully analyse potential and actual M & A transactions and their aftermath
• Critically analyse how governance shapes acquisition outcomes and growth and how stakeholders affect the acquisition process

Indicative reading list

Graebner ME, Heimeriks KH, Huy Q, Vaara E. 2017. The process of post-merger integration: a review and agenda for future research. Academy of Management Annals 11(1): 1–32.
Alton R, Rising C, Waldeck A. 2011. The new M&A playbook. Harvard Business Review 89(3): 48–57.
Capron L, Mitchell W. 2010. Finding the right path. Harvard Business Review 88(7-8): 102-107.
Olson MS, Van Bever D, Verry S. 2008. When growth stalls. Harvard Business Review 86(3): 50-61
Heimeriks KH, Schijven M, Gates S. 2012. Manifestations of higher-order routines: the underlying mechanisms of deliberate learning in the context of post-acquisition integration. Academy of Management Journal 55(3): 703-726.
Ashkenas RN, DeMonaco LJ, Francis SC. 1998. Making the deal real. How GE Capital integrates acquisitions. Harvard Business Review 76(1)
Hayward MLA, Hambrick DC. 1997. Explaining the premiums paid for large acquisitions: evidence of the CEO hubris. Administrative Science Quarterly 42: 103-127.
Bettinazzi ELM, Zollo M. 2017. Stakeholder orientation and acquisition performance. Strategic Management Journal 38: 2465–2485.
Porter ME, Kramer MR. 2011. Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review 89(1-2): 62–77.
Das TK, Teng B-S. 2000. Instabilities of strategic alliances: an internal tensions perspective. Organization Science 11(1): 77-101.
Poppo L, Zenger T. 2002. Do formal contracts and relational governance function as substitutes or complements?. Strategic Management Journal 23(8): 707-725.
Kumar N. 2009. How emerging giants are rewriting the rules of M&A. Harvard Business Review 87(5): 115-121.
Bekier MM, Bogardus, Oldham T. 2001. Mastering revenue growth in M&A. McKinsey on Finance 1: 1-5.
Bingham C, Heimeriks KH, Schijven M, Gates S. 2014. Concurrent learning: how organizations develop multiple dynamic capabilities in parallel. Strategic Management Journal 36(12): 1802–1825.
Capron L. 2013. Cisco’s corporate development portfolio: a blend of building, borrowing, and buying. Strategy & Leadership 41(2): 27-30.
Konstantopoulos, N., Sakas, D. and Triantafyllopoulos, Y., 2009. Lessons from a case study for Greek banking M&A negotiations. Management Decision, 47(8), pp.1300-1312.
Weber, Y., Belkin, T. and Tarba, S.Y., 2011. Negotiation, cultural differences, and planning in mergers and acquisitions. Journal of Transnational Management, 16(2), pp.107-115.
Ahammad, M.F., Tarba, S.Y., Liu, Y., Glaister, K.W. and Cooper, C.L., 2016. Exploring the factors influencing the negotiation process in cross-border M&A. International Business Review, 25(2), pp.445-457.

Research element

Research to gain sufficient information to be able to meaningfully analyse transactions

International

Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of the relevance and importance of M&A as an activity in terms of geographic spread

Subject specific skills

Formulate serial acquisition opportunities for capability building
Design organization for repeated deal success
Select right integration approach for operational and cultural fit

Transferable skills

Clear and concise report writing.