ABSTRACT

Rarely a happy ending, in fact. Data recording the success rate of alliances and mergers in the business world as a whole point to an overall figure of less than 50% for alliances, and of approximately 30% for mergers. After peaking in around the year 2000, alliance numbers worldwide are now on the wane, and while they still remain one of the favourite corporate solutions to address the challenges of an ever more competitive global market, the downward tendency seems unrestrainable – with perhaps the exception of the US market, where a rebound is in sight. Mergers, on the other hand, are more popular, fuelled by what are still relatively low interest rates and capital availability on the free market. Their promise to generate higher returns through consolidation continues to lure the attention of the business community, in spite of the fact that two out of three fail utterly.