Harvard Business Review on Mergers & Acquisitions [Paperback]

Harvard Business Press (Author)

Book Description

Series: Harvard Business Review Paperback Series | Publication Date: June 1, 2001

Almost every day the papers report another merger, buyout, or joint venture. It's difficult enough to keep track of who owns which company, but it's even more difficult to know if your own company should join in the game. From valuation to integration, this collection helps managers think through what such a strategic move would mean for their organizations. "The Harvard Business Review Paperback Series" is designed to bring today's managers and professionals the fundamental information they need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world. From the preeminent thinkers whose work has defined an entire field to the rising stars who will redefine the way we think about business, here are the leading minds and landmark ideas that have established the "Harvard Business Review" as required reading for ambitious businesspeople in organizations around the globe.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Since 1984, Harvard Business School Press has been dedicated to publishing the most contemporary management thinking, written by authors and practitioners who are leading the way. Whether readers are seeking big-picture strategic thinking or tactical problem solving, advice in managing global corporations or for developing personal careers, HBS Press helps fuel the fire of innovative thought. HBS Press has earned a reputation as the springboard of thought for both established and emerging business leaders.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Press (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578515556
• ISBN-13: 978-1578515554
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #532,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of "the on-boarding bible*" The First 90 Days - which has sold over a 500,000 copies in English and has been translated into 27 languages. My mission is to help executives navigate their transitions into new roles though my work at Genesis Advisers (www.genesisadvisers.com). My new book is Your Next Move: The Leader's Guide to Navigating Major Career Transitions. Check it out at my personal website www.MichaelDWatkins.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good insights - lacks continuity - falls short, June 13, 2001

By 

Rosa Simms (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Mergers & Acquisitions (Paperback)

This book has a a few very informative articles/chapters. It virtually covers the entire M&A continuum from deal strategy through post merger integration. It has a fatal flaw however due to its format and that is a lack of consistency from one section to the next. By jumping from one author to another, the reader is subjected to guidance that is often contradicted or not considered a few chapters later by another author. That is why I prefer books offering guidance on the subject from a thoughtleader or practitioner who can walk me through the entire process from beginning to end. I am comforted knowing I am not being plied with theory that will be refuted 30 pages later. The book does include some very learned insights from previous authors of HBR articles, which most of us have read before but fails to include others such as Drs. Mark Feldman, Pat Gaughin, David Greenspan, Mark Clemente and Jac Fitz-Enz who are some of the finest minds and true heavyweights in the fields of culture, process, organizational development, and integration. I know because- as a Harvard alumna and corporate strategist for 20 years - I have worked as an employee alongside some of these M&A pioneers at such firms as AT&T, Lucent, IBM, and Citibank watching them give birth to the M&A scriptures. Each has penned their guidance in other less lofty titles which take the reader the whole way through the M&A experience while sharing successes, failures, theory, and case studies. This book is impressive to put on one's shelf and it does indeed have some very practical applications for today's corporate combinations. Yet the comprehensive guidance offered by these other authors eclipses the magazine-like compilation contained herein. It sorely misses their contributions.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Outdated; should not be sold anymore, January 28, 2008

By 

Arnout Jacobs (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Mergers & Acquisitions (Paperback)

I don't think this is a bad collection of articles. However, its contents are no longer relevant today. The book opens with the announced merger of AOL and Time Warner, hailing it as a great development. We now know how spectacularly that deal collapsed. The article then continues with a discussion of how M&A is 'different' in the internet age, and how this justifies ever larger takeover sums. Worldcom is then given as an example; another icon of the excesses of the internet boom that imploded. Participant in the opening discussion is Dennis Kozlowski, who is now serving eight to twenty-five years in prison for his role in the Tyco scandals.

I admit, all of this is entertaining enough from a historical perspective. However, it should be beneath Harvard Business Review to keep on milking no longer relevant content for a few extra dollars profit at airports, college bookstores etc.

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Next best thing . . ., January 2, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Mergers & Acquisitions (Paperback)

. . . to hanging around with a bunch of practicioners swapping war stories and advise/wisedom/opinion. As the other reviewer said, the advise is at times contradictory, which is exactly what you get from talking to the professionals who do this all the time. There are some thing which everyone agrees on, and much of the rest is personal style.