mergers-and-acquisitions

The Strongest Link provides a proven approach to sustaining SUCCESSFUL strategic alliances. This is a must-read for individuals who want to learn more about corporate alliances and for corporations looking to ensure a successful transition when committing to an alliance. An overall great read.

The Strongest Link, a treatise on the management of corporate alliances by George Slowinski and Matt Sagal, has come towards the end of my career. This is too bad, since it is an excellent and comprehensive book on this topic, building on the twenty years of experience that the authors bring to the topic.

Based on this extensive experience gained from working on dozens of alliances, they have developed an "Alliance Framework" that covers the topic - from deal conception to the termination clauses. This systematic structure, using a six-step process, covers the process from end to end, and the text is full of useful advice on almost every aspect of success and potential failure. Given the extensive experience of the authors, they have seen just about everything that could and does happen, and developed scenarios to both exploit opportunities and counter challenges.

The authors admit that "creating and managing strategic alliances is an art" - but to help the "struggling artist" they have crafted an excellent how-to book. Despite their protestations that their Alliance Framework is "not a step by step check list", any alliance manager could do much worse than follow its advice to the letter.

The book is not an easy read. It is not to be skimmed on a flight to Tokyo. Rather the serious alliance manager will lock themselves in their office with pen and pad, and pour over the book page by page, to get the full benefit of the wealth of experience that the authors bring to the subject.

The book could benefit from more detail on individual deals. While the authors have distilled the essence of their multiple experiences, the readers could better learn from individual and practical examples. Although confidentiality is always as issue, whatever can be done describe real examples beyond the Battelle alliance, would significantly enhance the value of the book.

Most books on alliances give broad advice or a 50,000 foot view of the topic. This book is different. It provides practical tools. My team now uses the Alliance Framework and Alliance Implementation Program to create and manage our deals.

This book takes the mystery out of M&A financial modeling and structuring deals. Many books on the subject seem to take a "black box" approach to how to do deal structuring and valuation. The author discusses in plain language how to do valuation, simulation, and deal structuring using financial models and how to use such models to select the best offer price for a target firm. The book includes detailed discussions of tax, accounting, and alternative deal structures.

The CD accompanying the book contains an Excel spread sheet model that can be modified to fit the unique circumstances of any transaction. This alone justifies buying the book, in my opinion.

The book also provides keen insights into how M&A can be used to implement business plans, how to identify potential target firms, strategies for contacting potential targets, and how to draw up initial documents such as confidentiality agreements and letters of intent. The book is highly comprehensive covering virtually all topics necessary to understanding the M&A process.

For the money, it is the best book on the subject, up-to-date, complete, and highly readable. If you have a serious interest in the subject, this is an important book to add to your library.

Unlike many other treatments of this subject, this text discusses M&A in the context of a process or framework. The author takes great pains to show how all M&A related activities interact. The text discusses both technical (e.g., valuation, accounting, and tax issues) and non-technical (e.g., strategy development, identifying potential targets, initial contact, negotiation, and integration) issues. The book does an excellent job of talking about alternatives to M&A for executing strategies, including alliances, joint ventures, partnerships, etc.

Numerous recent case studies illustrate various concepts and situations. The coverage of laws affecting different types of business combinations, of accounting standards applicable to M&A, and of relevant tax considerations is both current and excellent. The book also contains useful checklists to facilitate implementing transactions. The book is also chock full of helpful insights and hints of what to look for and how to avoid the traps that often accompany different types of transactions.

The book also contains an excellent discussion of other ways to enhance shareholder value. These include spin-offs, divestitures, carve-outs, bust-ups, and bankruptcy.

The book is highly practical and well-documented and could be viewed as a handbook on how to use M&A (or alternatives to M&A) to execute business stratgies. I think the book is an indispensable reference for accountants, lawyers, investment bankers, CFOs, and others involved in making transactions happen.

This book is very well written...packed full of helpful information on M&A. The author's use of short cases to illustrate key points was most helpful. I found the down to earth discussion of how to put deals together very clear. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the scope of the book included an extensive discussion of alternative strategies such as JVs to mergers and acquisitions. The author also managed to include an exceedingly large number of case studies in the book, many of which were international transactions. Good book, good read. I highly recommend it.

Tom Taulli, media savant and expert dealwatcher, has penned a volume that is useful, comphrensive, and readable. Bravo!

This book is a terrific read for any business person who has been, will be, or wants to be in Mergers and Acquisitions. Tom Taulli does a great job educating and advising the reader. This is a must have book for investment bankers, business brokers and dealmakers, but especially for executives of companies who are considering selling or acquiring other businesses.

The Complete M&A Handbook is a great read. I plan on buying several copies to hand out to clients. The explanations are very clear and concise. Yet detailed enough for a professional to put in the tool box for reference.

Whether you're well-versed or not in the how-to of selling a business, everyone should find value and great expertise in this book. The author presents facts and anecdotes to take you through the process in a way that keeps you interested and inspired. If you are looking to sell your business, I would think this book is an invaluable tool. But even if you're not -- if you're someone like me, who is interested in the subject but has little practical experience -- this was a refreshing and enlightening read. I highly recommend it.

This extremely well written book was very helpful in providing me with a discussion of the step-by-step process of selling a business. I particularly liked the numerous stories of first-hand experiences that the author cites to reinforce his discription of the entire selling process.

It is very clear that the book was written by someone who has actually worked hand-in-glove with business owners in selling their companies. He certianly understands the problems owners face in the selling procress and how to best deal with them.

After reading this book as a refresher, it brought back to my attention the considerable details in selling a business. The book has given me an update on all the steps involved in selling a business--everything from when and how to tell employees about a forthcoming sale, through negotiating the purchase price and related legal documents, all the way to the final closing process.

This book is a must read for anyone planning to sell his or her business.

Transformational change addresses the problem of how to deal with change when moving from a mass production oriented business to a customer centered customized production business. One of the truly unique perspectives of this book is that it discusses and details the process of such a change. Many similar books effectively argue the need for change but then provide no direction on how to make the change. Thomas Wentz' book provides detailed discussion and processes for creating that complete transformation of your business

In the past most businesses were based on a mass production focus. Success and management were evaluated on a numbers basis. How much has sales increased? How many items were produced during this period last year? This numbers orientation tends to cause people to work hard to meet the numbers as their primary focus. In this scenario employees typically don't go beyond what is expected of them. There is no motivation to create a unique world-class organization. Add to that the fact that times have changed and customers now require a solution or product that is customized to their specific needs. If you can't provide a customized solution or product then they will simply go to a competitor that can. Is this just another business direction change? Thomas Wentz argues that it is more than just a directional change, it requires a complete transformation of the business from one form to another completely different form.

A nice extra to the book are the numerous "Key points" scattered throughout the text. By summarizing the prior information in just one or two sentences and making it stand out from the text it is easy to quickly read over the key points of the book and refresh your memory on an ongoing basis. An excellent book on business and change that also has some applicability to personal change, it is a recommended read.

This book finally provides the process to address how leaders can transform their company. Many other books defined the need to rethink the "business of the business" but none actually outlined a process. I have not only read the book but also participated in several of Tom's Simulation exercises. With this experiential background, I can honestly express to readers that you will actually understand what Tom is trying to convey only after having experienced the Simulation in conjunction with reading the book. We all have seen managers who were trying to "fix" an organization into a level of performance desired by customers, stockholders, and employees. Given the changes in consumers' demands for customized solutions, organizations that were built within the context of Mass Production cannot be "fixed" into a new existence. Organizations must be transformed and created to compete within the new reality of Mass Customization and the required thinking of a "market of one."

The Simulation allows team members to "feel" the transformational change process and thereby it becomes more meaningful and alive than simply understanding the intellectual issues documented within Transformational Change. In particular, it becomes critical that a collection of individuals become aligned on the outcome the organization is trying to "create"; i. e., the Vision. More importantly, the individual boss can no longer "tell" the organization what the Vision should be. In today's world, team members must collectively create the Vision and enroll in that creation procss. Subsequent to alignment on Vision, then the Structural Framework becomes the documented process for leading the organization through transformation.

If you read this book and participate within a Simulation, you will not believe how you will be equipped to transform your organization and be prepared to deal with the realtiy of Mass Customization. This is a very important book that all leaders should read, and read again.

Written by the Thomas K. Wentz (President of Corporate Performance Systems Inc.), Transformational Change: How To Transform Mass Production Thinking To Meet The Challenge Of Mass Customization is a solid and deftly presented guide for adapting to the new and evolving demands and realities of a globalized marketplace where merely churning out vast quantities of a product is simply not enough to be profitable. Now, more and more, customers want goods and services uniquely tailored to their tastes, and they are willing to pay for it - so much so as to change the shape of international businesses worldwide. Learning how to incorporate customization for maximum consumer satisfaction and profit is a rocky road, but individual chapters of Transformational Change address a range of relevant problems including corporate restructuring, gathering appropriate intelligence, competitive advantages and disadvantages, and a great deal more. Transformational Change is a truly excellent resource and a highly motivational reading for business managers at all corporate levels of responsibility.

Very detailed source for information on mergers, acquisitions and buyouts. The question and answer format is a great way to identify the information that you need. This book really is a handbook; I wouldn't encourage reading it cover to cover, but to use it as more of a reference book. The footnotes at the end of each chapter are useful to finding more in depth information, and the book gives a generous number of websites which you can consult.

After scanning several books on the subject, this one looked like the most useful and usable of the batch. The Art of M&A provides solid, detailed and precise information for people in companies making acquisitions. It is a good introduction to the topic and long term resource for specifics.

This is a fantastic reference tome for anyone involved with M&A. As a private equity Associate, I have found this book to be invaluable on multiple levels as both a reference guide for securities law, as well as for procedural issues such as sample formats for term sheets, DD check lists, etc.

Also, while it is a dense read, I think this would be invaluable for people just entering either Investment Banking or Private Equity to read as an introduction to the rules, regulations and procedures surrounding mergers/acquisitions.

Rickertsen presents a comprehensive overview of a management buyout. Before you buy the book, you should know that he is talking about larger companies, and he is talking about fairly senior executives buying them. (One of his examples of a successful buyout manager is Roger Ballou who ran the travel part of American Express.)If you are looking for a company with $5 million in revenues, you may find valuable information here, but you will likely find other books, targeting a smaller company, more appropriate.

BUYOUT will become the 'bible' of buyouts for managers and investment bankers/advisors. One of the first good books on buyouts. The book covers all aspects of the buyout considerations/process/tactics/contracts etc, is an easy read, but above all the joy of which it is clearly written with(and the convincing arguments) must inspire managers to pursue a buyout. I think no manager will be imune to this great book. BUYOUT is a guide, a motivator, a sales pitch and fun book to read at the same time. Also a recommended read to sellers of businesses to show that a buyout is nothing to be scared of. A must read for everyone unknown and known with the buyout business. Just read the book and find out why I am so enthusiastic about it.

Rickertsen succinctly sums up everything you need to know about leading a buyout. This book gives you confidence and guidance - like a personal counselor. The stories are particularly interesting. The appendices are an added bonus and the book's web site offers additional resources to help you move forward with a management buyout.

This is an outstanding academic treatment of the investments made by KKR, all of which were some kind of leveraged buy-out. The authors focus their attention on the transactions themselves, not the way they were viewed by society or on the people that put them together - in this regard the book is a rare gem. It treats the period up to 1990 in some depth, with some very interesting case studies that show pretty good financial detail with outstanding qualitative descriptions of the transactions that were put together. As you walk through the various case studies, you are able to sit alongside with the KKR team and watch as the LBO goes from an unusual financial instrument to a mainstream product that is widely accepted in the marketplace. While growing acceptance of financial products is an established facet of Wall Street, to follow this evolution through the work of a single firm really is quite interesting. The manner in which the complexity, leverage and size of the transactions grow is laid out in plain English, making this a fascinating read.

Only Chapter 5 "KKR as an Institutional Form" focused on the firm itself, and even this treatment was not nearly as obsequious as many other financial books (most notably "Goldman Sachs: the Culture of Success" by Endlich). Mr. Baker and Mr. Smith take a very level-headed approach and document the growth of the firm in a straight-forward manner, although they do inject a good deal of 'positivity' to their view, i.e. the revolutionary introduction of Monday Morning Meeting's at KKR in the 1990's (this is commonplace at most banks).

I particularly enjoyed the second chapter "Recasting the Role of Debt" which talks about some of the earlier transactions that KKR did in some depth. The description of their LBO of Houdaille is very much worth reading, if only for the fact that traditional 'Old Economy' companies are again garnering such interest. Indeed, that is a very noteworthy aspect of the whole book, KKR focused on established companies with real cash flows. The one transaction which involved real growth financing was a near bust. This is very different than all of the financial maneuvering that has gone on over the past two years, and it is interesting to compare the sustainability of the two efforts (the many years of KKR's existence surely triumphs over venture capital's recent 15 minutes of fame). Chapter 4 on "When Risk Becomes Real" talks about some of the failed KKR transactions, EFB Trucking and Eaton Leonard in some detail. The reaction of KKR to these hiccups is very impressive, and while it is told with the same 'positivity' of the authors as mentioned above, the authors still do a good job of telling the story in an objective manner. The efforts of the partners to maintaining KKR's reputation in the marketplace is nothing short of heroic, and while there was a clear financial incentive over the short term it is clear that the longer term reputation of the company also played a clear role in motivating their actions.

It really is rare to get a book as good as this with detailed financial information (even if it is more than 10 years old) and a mostly unbiased view of the Company. Where the authors are biased, it is easy to pick up and interpret. This is very much an academic treatment of the firm, with some detail as to what the rest of the market was doing, but not a whole lot. There are just the right number of graphs, which is very nice. I would think anybody working in finance would enjoy this book, although given the depth in which it describes the transactions, it might not be the most leisurely read. This is an outstanding book.

Baker and Smith have accomplished two objectives in their short book. On the surface, they have expertly captured the key elements in the development of KKR as the frontrunner of the LBO firm. However, on a deeper level, they have also captured many of the elements that managers and entrepreneurs should consider when running or starting a firm. In this regard, the Preface and Chapter Five are worth the price of admission. For anyone interested in the evolution and history of modern American finance, read this book.

KKR was the first name I heard while researching the Private Equity marketplace for a college paper. It also became the name heard mostly afterwards and rightfully so. Jerome Kohlberg, Henry Kravis and George Roberts are obviously extremely smart and confident guys, fortunately the book exhibits moments of vulnerability; which is helpful for any financial entrepreneur. The only shortfall is that the book isn't longer. I was excited while reading some of the chapters, keep in mind that this is a finance book not the Lord of the Rings. This book is terrific. Enjoy

The writers (Lizz & PJ of EMERGE) have taken an unknown, amorphous concept and developed it into the leading organizational management tool and process, Cultural Due Diligence (tm). This book explains the Cultural Due Diligence (tm) process, its importance to all business organizations and its implementation and review. Lizz & PJ of EMERGE are well-known for their seminars on Cultural Due Diligence(tm) and the book is a wonderful desk reference. It has also been picked up by several universities as required reading in business curriculum.

Having endured three acquisitions with one company, two down-sizings with another, being subjected to two subsequent layoffs with two companies, and forming my own consulting business, I found "Getting Your Shift Together" a very accurate outline of what is missed during critical times of change. It is refreshing in that it clearly identifies not only what is overlooked but also why we so often ignore what is squarely in front of us. While the book is actually a quick read, I read it slowly (some text repeatedly), often finding myself pondering its insightful truths. Getting an accurate picture of an organization's culture is critical to its longevity. Reading this book should be anyone's first step in gaining such a focus. The book gives the reader pause as it clearly shows how and why we hide from the truths that surround us. I reflected back to the line in "A Few Good Men" when Jack Nicholson says to Tom Cruise, "You can't handle the truth!" While truth may be hard to handle, in business we can't survive the lies and denial! Honesty rings through this book, moving the reader to examine his/her own world. What are the reigning values? Where is the trust? What's next? Take the Culture Health IndexTM and find out what your organization's culture really looks like. Be advised - this is not for the faint of heart, but it's also for anyone who still harbors any hope for surviving an upcoming change (and emerging as a leader) in his or her organization. "Getting Your Shift Together" is one of the best books I've read in a long, long time.

My favorite part is the point that when change initiatives fail, things never go back to the way they were before. This book makes you think about your blind spots, and how to not let them get in the way of making change work. The authors come off credible, with a "in the trenches" perspective. A good reality check.

M&A, the strategy of choice for CEOs in the 1990s, is being relegated to the dustbin of history by partnerships, the flexible, efficient alternative for a global market. As such, executives must learn a new set of skills that focus on creating, strengthening and maintaining relationships. These abilities are the antithesis of the hard-nosed deal-making tactics you learned in business school.
The authors take the concept of partnering farther than many businesspeople will be willing to go when they suggest sharing their business secrets and ideas with everyone from hot start-ups to venerable competitors. But we [...] recommend this short, concise book to high-level executives in need of a partnership primer.

The Power of Two is a must read for any alliances professional!

I gave my only copy away, thus some thoughts from memory! We are preparing the first national awareness and research-fundraising campaign for both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, the two largest (and closely related) degenerative, neurological diseases. Sadly, after 4,000+ hours of my volunteer labor plus another 5,000+ hours of selfless contributions from 36+ volunteers nationwide, since August 1996, we have not found one organization that even comes close to believing or practicing "The Power of Two". Fortunately, we have found and built lasting relationships with INDIVIDUALS that believe and practice the all-important principles explained eloquently, yet in plain English, by the authors of Power of Two. The Power of Two is now required reading for our leadership and for leadership of any organization hoping to associate with us. This powerful book really should be considered by all CEOs of for-profit and non-for-profit organizations as a litmus test for all prospective alliance or JV partners, as well as suppliers and associates; i.e., if others don't qualify as Power of Two participants (and the authors explain how to easily make this determination), then don't waste any more time in "exploring a relationship" or "furthering business discussions"...cut your losses and move on until you locate a Power of Two organization or individual. We have the authors of this essential book to thank for finally giving us a road-map of how to select partners (of all sorts really) and then how to make the partnership or alliance, etc. WORK. How to maximize results. How to stay accountable with all concerned. And how to know when the Power of Two relationship has served its purpose (or not done so), and thus should end. Our mission is to discover how to prevent and control Alzheimer's and Parkinson's by the year 2011. To do so will almost certainly require hundreds of millions of strategically-placed medical research dollars. But most importantly, any sizable task in today's world, including the awesome challenge our Foundation is dedicated to, must be accomplished on a firm foundation of trusted, reliable, empowering, energizing and synergistic RELATIONSHIPS. The Power of Two shows us the way. To all leaders or would-be leaders, if you only read three books this year, make sure this is one! And finally, I am not related to, nor have I met, The Power of Two authors! And I own no stock in Anderson Consulting or the book's publisher!