published_or_final_version / abstract / Business / Master / Master of Philosophy

A major problem confronting farmer cooperatives merging for the first time is the lack of valuable experience that a prior merger would have provided. This lack of experience results in a decision making environment of imperfect knowledge, both of the necessary postmerger activities to be performed and the timing of their performance. Thus, it was the purpose of this study to provide inexperienced cooperatives with a guide for scheduling uncertain postmerger decisions and activities. Such a guide will enable more rational postmerger decision making and more effective reorganization of merging businesses. The additional information was provided primarily from the historical records of an actual dairy cooperative case merger to which a technique known as PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) was applied to develop a prescriptive model of the postmerger activities and their scheduling for possible use in similar subsequent mergers. The major benefits from using a case study approach was pedagogical in the hope that the results would be more readily adopted in practical use than if a purely theoretical design were used. Furthermore, the results of the study are based on the supposition that the synergistic benefits are greatest when the length of the postmerger decision period is minimized. Uncertainty is alleviated through planning and PERT is a planning tool that can be used to minimize project completion time. However, by applying PERT to historical data much can be learned from the experience of a previous merger. The results of applying PERT to a posteriori case study data provided a prescriptive guide for scheduling postmerger decisions and activities. More specifically, PERT determined the key performance areas of marketing and personnel to be of critical significance following the decision to merge. These areas were determined to be critical with respect to their constituent activity completion times; that is, the sequential activity path determined to be the longest occurred within the marketing and personnel areas. Thus, the expected completion times of the activities within these areas must not be prolonged in order that the merger may be completed on schedule. As determined by PERT, all other key performance areas in the case merger were not likely to become bottleneck areas during the postmerger decision period; basically their integration responsibility was one of converting the premerger procedures of the "acquired" cooperatives to that of the acquiring cooperative. Merging cooperatives can realize substantial savings from adapting the methods and findings of this study to their particular situation. Such a course of action will enable a more rapid completion of the postmerger decisions and activities and hasten the realization of the potential synergistic benefits. / Graduation date: 1971

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The overall objective of the study was to determine the financial characteristics of companies involved in merger activity. More specifically, the study aims to determine: (a) whether acquired companies possessed financial characteristics similar to previous failed companies (the 'failing-company' hypothesis); (b) whether acquiring companies possessed financial characteristics similar to previous failed companies and (c) the impact of acquisition on the post-acquisition performance of acquiring companies, and particularly to consider whether their performance differs according to the financial characteristics of the companies they acquired. A new "bankruptcy prediction" model, contemporary with the acquisition data, was derived, tested for robustness, and applied to samples of acquired and acquiring companies. An indirect test of the 'failing-company' hypothesis was carried out by comparison with the results obtained on application of the model to control groups of non-acquired and non-acquiring companies. The test indicated that a higher proportion of acquired companies possessed financial characteristics similar to failed companies than the control group of non-acquired companies. This evidence tends to support the 'failing-company' hypothesis as a motive for mergers for acquired companies. Conversely, there was no such evidence in support of the hypothesis for acquiring companies. The approach adopted also allowed the dichotomy of acquired companies (failing vs. non-failing) which made it possible to test for differential post-acquisition performance of the acquiring companies. In order to evaluate the post-acquisition performance of acquiring companies, three different measurement criteria were adopted. They were: (a) accounting-based profitability and gearing ratios (b) industry-standardardised profitability measure (Meeks (1977)) and (c) performance analysis-scores (PAS-score) (Taffler (1983)). The results indicated that the acquiring companies generally incurred a decline in their post-acquisition profitability measures, while they increased their gearing ratios. Generally, the group acquiring potentially failing companies exhibited 'superior' post-acquisition performance compared with the group acquiring "non-failing" companies. These findings support the managerial motives for mergers since there appears to be little evidence that mergers are undertaken to increase profitability as implied in neoclassical motives. They also suggest the possible need for a review of public policy towards mergers; perhaps mergers ought to be encouraged only if they prevent impending bankruptcy by the acquisition of failing companies.

Die Analyse hatte zum Ziel zu überprüfen, wie sich die optimalen Preise in einem inhomogenen Mehrproduktoligopol durch einen Zusammenschluß verändern. Es konnte gezeigt werden, daß sich nach einem Zusammenschluß von zwei Unternehmen die optimalen Preise aller Güter auf diesem Markt unter linearen Bedingungen erhöhen. Bei einem Zusammenschluß mit zentraler Leitung und einer Beteiligung von unter 100 % mußte eine Untergrenze für die Beteiligungshöhe vorausgesetzt werden, da sich sonst keine optimalen Preise berechnen lassen. Für nicht lineare Kosten- oder Preis-Absatz-Funktionen wurden keine Aussagen abgeleitet. Ferner wurden weder Synergien noch Kostenreduktionen durch Skalenerträge angenommen. Weitere Untersuchungen müssen klären, ob bei Synergien oder Kostenreduktionen ähnliche oder andere Preiswirkungen auftreten.

M.Com. (Business Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

「紅色供應鏈」的崛起已讓與之相關的產業人士聞之色變，近期電視新聞媒體、報章雜誌、學者專家、產業公會及相關業者都在討論「紅色供應鏈」。許多人在討論此議題時，往日的自信神態不復存在，更多的是憂心忡忡、蹙眉唏噓，言談之中「紅色供應鏈」似乎就如紅魔鬼一般可怕，隨時會將台灣廠商吞噬殆盡，一時之間風聲鶴唳，山雨欲來。 「紅色供應鏈」的崛起，其當然存在強大競爭力，其不僅對中國大陸市場俱有重大影響力，對全球其他巿場的影響亦是至關重要，近期更是對以中、小企業型態各自經營發展的台灣廠商產生重大影響。這些經過多年發展的優秀台灣廠商們，會不敵只經短短數年發展的「紅色供應鏈」而束手無策嗎?本研究想協助找出因應「紅色供應鏈」崛起的策略性方法，以供先進們參考。 經由研究發現，其實台灣廠商多年來，各自在不同領域發展，早已發展出不同的核心競爭力，因此得以在其面對的市場中生存並發展，透過水平併購策略，將台商們各自單一但具互補性的核心競爭力相加後，所產生的綜效是強大的，將讓結合後的台灣廠商競爭能力大幅度提升，甚至讓併購前個別廠商的劣勢幾乎完全消失，不只足以對抗「紅色供應鏈」，更是足以進軍甚至稱霸全球市場。

Malgré le développement des opérations de FA bancaires, toutes ne permettent pas d’augmenter la performance des entreprises concernées. En effet, le taux d’échec de ces opérations est élevé et depuis longtemps des chercheurs s’interrogent fortement sur les réelles raisons de ces échecs. Beaucoup de facteurs influençant la performance ont été avancés pour expliquer le succès ou l’échec d’une opération de FA mais ces études se sont souvent basées sur des méthodes de recherches quantitatives ne permettant pas de détecter un seul facteur précis et majeur ressortant le plus de l’ensemble des éléments influençant la performance et expliquant le résultat de l’opération de FA réalisée. En effet, une vison exclusivement financière constitue une vision étroite de ce qu’est une opération de FA bancaire, vu que son succès ou son échec dépend également de la réalisation d’unesynergie concernant les domaines stratégique, processuel, organisationnel et culturel de ces opérations. C’est dans cette optique que notre étude s’est donnée pour ambition d’examiner la problématique suivante : quel facteur déterminant explique le succès ou l’échec perçu des FA dans le secteur bancaire ? C’est donc à travers une étude qualitative, constituée et analysée par la méthode de cas multiples et composée d’un échantillon de 17 entretiens, que nos investigations tentent d’expliquer comment se fait l’arbitrage entre la performance des FA, à savoir un résultat positif ou négatif réalisé, et la perception qu’ont les acteurs, ayant vécu de près ou de loin une opération de rapprochement tel qu’une opérationde FA bancaire, de cette performance. Enfin, notre recherche montre que la dimension organisationnelle est au coeur de nos résultats ayant un impact décisif sur le résultat de l’opération de FA bancaire qu’il soit positif (succès) ou négatif (échec). / Despite of the banking M&A development, all do not allow to increase the performance of theconcerned companies. Indeed, the rate of failure of these operations is hight and since a long time, researchers wonder strongly about the real reasons of these failures. Many factors influencing the performance were moved forward to explain the success or the failure ofa M&A operation ; but these studies, have often based themselves on quantitative esearches methodsnot allowing to detect a single precise and major factor standing out most from all the elements influencing the performance and explaining the merger and acquisition result. Indeed, one exclusively financial vision constitutes a narrow vision of what a banking M&A operation is as its success or its failure also depends on the synergy realization concerning strategic domains, processuel, organizational and cultural of these operations.The mission of our study is to examine the following issue : What determining factor explains the M&A success or failure perceived in the banking sector? Through a qualitative study, constituted and analyzed by the multiples cases method (17 interviews have been conducted), our investigations have tryied to explain how the arbitration between the M&A performance is made, namely a positive or negative result realized, and the performance perceptionwhich have the actors, having lived closely or remotely a M&A opération. Finally , our research shows that the organizational dimension is at the heart of our results having adecisive impact on the M&A result whether it is positive (success) or negative (failure).

S ohledem na skutečnost, že více než polovina uskutečněných fúzí a akvizic je považována za neúspěšnou, realizovala jsem výzkum, který sleduje proces fúzí a akvizic v České republice a hodnotí jejich úspěšnost s ohledem na vývoj odvětví. Ve své disertační práci se zabývám vývojem fúzí a akvizic uskutečněných českými subjekty od roku 1997 až do 1. poloviny roku 2008 a hodnotím tento vývoj z několika hledisek tak, abych mohla posoudit úspěšnost transakčního procesu českých podnikatelských subjektů. Dospěla jsem k závěru, že akviziční společnosti mají před i po akvizici většinou velmi dobré finanční výsledky. Fúzované společnosti jsou naopak v době transakce pod průměrem České republiky, avšak v po transakčním vývoji se jejich finanční výsledky vyvíjejí ve srovnání s odvětvím velmi pozitivně. I když je potřeba zohlednit individuální charakter každé transakce, konstatuji, že v období 1997 až 2007 převažovaly v České republice úspěšné fúze a akvizice. Další závěry: - Transakční aktivita na území České republiky vykazuje klesající trend. - Nejčastěji probíhají fúze a akvizice mezi českými společnostmi navzájem. České společnosti nejčastěji kupují ze zahraničních subjektů slovenské společnosti. Naopak české společnosti jsou předmětem zájmu německých a amerických společností. - Některá průmyslová odvětví zaznamenávají klesající trend zájmu o transakce. - Hodnota transakce v období 1997 až 1. polovina roku 2008 v České republice klesá. - Nejčastějším způsobem úhrady kupovaného podílu je hotovost. - Nejčastěji se kupují společnosti, kde lze získat stoprocentní podíl nebo alespoň majoritu.

Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2013. / This study re-examines post-acquisition performance of acquiring firms in South Africa using Economic Value Add (EVA). Investigation of the 336 acquisitions occurring during 2000 to 2011 reveals that acquiring firms experience significantly deteriorating EVA after the completion of acquisitions. Further, this study evaluates the performance of other traditional accounting measures including Earning per share (EPS), Return on capital (ROC), Return of Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) post acquisition. The results suggest that acquiring firms tend to experience slightly improved performance after completion of the acquisitions when using traditional accounting measures. But the improved operating performance is wiped out by capital costs of the large premiums paid to the target firm, creating no real economic gains to the acquiring firm‘s shareholders