Mergers and Acquisitions

Pre-course Assignment

Please answer the following questions

1. Why do you think mergers cluster in time, causing merger waves?

2. Why do you think shareholders from target companies enjoy an average gain when acquired, while acquiring shareholders on average often do not gain anything?

3. If you are planning an acquisition that is motivated by trying to acquire expertise, you are basically seeking to gain intellectual capital. What concerns would you have in structuring the deal and the post-merger integration that would be different from the concerns you would have when buying physical capital?

4. What do you think are the financial and non financial factors that motivate a merger or an acquisition?

Word count: Max 1200 words