The Art of Acquisitions

If M&As are such a good business move, why do so many fail?After the contracts have been signed and the initial euphoria has passed, the complexity of making an acquisition work takes root. The failure rate is very high and the cost to companies immense. And it is more an art than a science.In this groundbreaking new book, The Art of Acquisitions, the authors show companies how to significantly increase value through mergers and acquisitions by learning from the architects of the deals that worked and, more importantly, how and why they were successful. Leading CEOs offer firsthand accounts of their involvement in major national and international deals and what changes have to be implemented to ensure the acquisition works after the financial and legal aspects of "the deal" are completed.Yvan Allaire, PhD [MIT] (Montreal, Quebec), is a member of the board and former Executive Vice President of Bombardier Inc., and Chairman of Bombardier Capital. He was one of the architectsbehind all of Bombardier s acquisitions since 1985. He has also been a professor of strategy for over twenty years. Dr. Allaire co-founded the Groupe Secor Inc., an international consulting firm, where he led the strategy practice. He has published numerous articles on strategy in leading management journals. Dr. Mihaela Firsirotu, PhD [McGill] (Montreal, Quebec), is the Bombardier Professor of Transnational Management and Chair of Strategic Studies at the School of Business of the Université du Québec a Montréal (UQAM) and lecturer on strategy and radical change to numerous management audiences.Dr. Firsirotu has published prize-winning articles in several journals.