ABSTRACT
Research has recently been published by MIT Sloan into how mergers and acquisitions succeed, or fail. The harsh reality is that most mergers, alliances and acquisitions are demerged or sold within five years.
Respective identities and egos all too often get in the way of successful mergers or alliances. The author builds on direct involvement in a number of strategic initiatives with the John Wood Group PLC (UK/US) and consulting work with Low & Bonar PLC (UK), UPM Kymmene (Finland) and Royal Neverdahl Ten Cate (Netherlands).
The chapter’s case study focuses on the merger of Rémy Cointréau and Bols, the international drinks companies. It focuses on the early stages of post-merger integration and provides examples of the success and failure factors to be considered when trying to change the game in an industry sector.
