Intelligent Mergers

M&A Hype: Has the market turned?

2010/08/28
By Scott Moeller
M&A Hype:  Has the market turned?

Readers of this blog know that I do not usually try to predict the M&A market.  I like to look at longer-term trends, trying to identify the drivers for the next merger wave and seeking to provide some guidance on what will make it turn upwards. I continue to insist that M&A is a...
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The Wall Street Journal on why CEO’s do M&A deals quickly after being appointed

2010/06/17
By Scott Moeller
The  Wall Street Journal on why CEO’s do M&A deals quickly after being appointed

There’s been a lot of press reaction to our recent report on what happens when a new CEO takes over: ‘Here’s the deal:  move fast as a new CEO’.  The report was written by Cass Business School and the M&A Research Centre (MARC) (which I head).  See also my blog entry ‘What comes next? Change...
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Due Diligence Requirements in M&A Deals

2010/06/08
By Scott Moeller
Due Diligence Requirements in M&A Deals

In QFinance, a very extensive on-line financial markets resource, I’ve written an article entitled ‘Due Diligence Requirements in Financial Transactions‘.  Due diligence is a critical business intelligence process, and in our book on the use of business intelligence in doing M&A deals better (Intelligent M&A, Navigating the Mergers and Acquisitions Minefield), the chapter on...
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Equity Market Reactions to the announcement of an M&A Deal

2010/06/01
By Scott Moeller
Equity Market Reactions to the announcement of an M&A Deal

Of principal concern to a dealmaker — whether the board of the acquiring company or the CEO recommending the deal — is whether the share price of the company will rise on the announcement of the acquisition of a target company … and by how much.  Of course the target company’s share price will...
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Article on CEOs and M&A deals

2010/05/23
By Scott Moeller
Article on CEOs and M&A deals

Thanks to Stefan Stern, the ‘On Management’ columnist in the Financial Times for his article on 18 May on our recent report on what happens when a new CEO takes over: ‘Here’s the deal:  move fast as a new CEO’.  That is, they do M&A deals.  See my blog entry ‘What comes next? Change your...
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What comes next? Change your CEO and (bang!) you’re acquiring another company

2010/05/18
By Scott Moeller
What comes next?  Change your CEO and (bang!) you’re acquiring another company

Many things happen when a company gets a new CEO.  Cass Business School and the M&A Research Centre (MARC) (which I head) have just released a study showing that CEO’s embark on M&A deals very quickly after being appointed. In the study which looked at 276 CEO changes from 1997 to 2009 in the...
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Why is European M&A so slow right now?

2010/05/09
By Scott Moeller
Why is European M&A so slow right now?

In the past two weeks, I’ve received numerous calls asking to explain why the M&A market in Europe was so slow in April.  Some of my comments have appeared in the Wall Street Journal and Financial News in articles entitled ‘Europe M&A Lags Behind World‘ and ‘European M&A set for worst month in a...
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Why you should do an M&A deal now

2010/05/03
By Scott Moeller
Why you should do an M&A deal now

Several months ago, Legg Mason strategist Michael Mauboussin published a report entitled ‘Surge in the Urge to Merge‘.  Based on some academic research reported in 2008 in the Academy of Management Journal, companies that invested in deals early in a merger cycle are more likely to be successful with their takeovers than those who...
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Football team acquisitions in the UK

2010/04/22
By Scott Moeller
Football team acquisitions in the UK

Fascinating article — especially at this time of the year when the European football season is coming to an exciting close — about the M&A deals in involving European football clubs.  Liam Vaughan has written an article in the Financial News about this:  ‘Football deals reach fever pitch’ (I’ve provided the link to the...
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M&A Forecast for 2010 — update

2010/04/19
By Scott Moeller
M&A Forecast for 2010 — update

Well, we’ve got more than one quarter of the year gone.  Is it really possible to see more clearly how 2010 will develop for the M&A markets?  I think so, and one reason is the behavioural aspects of the market that cause it to be ‘sticky’, as discussed several weeks ago in an article...
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