The research examines what drives Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) using a theoretical and empirical approach. The theoretical part uses flexible optimal policies which adjust to changes in the market structure following a merger. The empirical part tests the major theoretical predictions to identify determinants of M&As in advanced economies. Chapters 1 and 2 consider M&As among firms in a pollution-intensive sector. Chapter 1 shows that identical polluting firms engage in M&As only if environmental policies are flexible. Chapter 2 shows that the flexibility of environmental policy increases the incentive to merge among heterogeneous firms. In addition, with flexible policy highly polluting firms have the highest incentive to merge than less polluting firms in a given sector. The empirical evidence suggests that the decision of manufacturing firms to engage in M&As is affected by environmental policy and firms may engage in merger deals in anticipation of a change in policy. Chapter 3 shows that with a flexible consumption tax firms in a bigger, more efficient country takeover firms in a smaller, less efficient country. The incentive to merge increases with the efficiency and market size of the host country. The empirical result obtained from 7 OECD countries shows that market size and firm efficiency play a major role in triggering international mergers.

Diploma thesis deals with analysis of legal and accounting requirements for mergers in Russia and comparison of conditions on M&A markets of Russia and the European Union. After description of essentials of M&A theory in the first part of the thesis the description of European and Russian regulations of mergers is performed. The final part of the thesis is devoted to the analysis of an example of the merger implemented in Russia.

Diploma thesis deals with an analysis of mergers and acquisitions on Czech market with evaluation of its effects. Introduction of the thesis contains glossary of related terms in areas of mergers and acquisitions and definition of motivations of companies to implement change. Thesis is focused on financial market and mostly on bank sector. Following part of the thesis is describing history and evolution of mergers and acquisitions on global market and after that on Czech market with emphasis on change from central planned system to market economics. The biggest added value of the thesis is description of valuation methods for ex post analysis of financial transaction between banks. Financial analysis method, evaluation of different subject's market share or evaluation of merged companies are involved. Some of these methods are used on real case of merger of eBanka and Raiffeisenbank that was finished in 2008.

Submitted in fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Technology: Human Resource Management, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Since the advent of democracy in 1994, South African society has been undergoing a rapid transformation. By the time the second democratic elections had come around, the focus had turned to transforming and restructuring the higher education sector. Mergers became an instrument in the hands of the Government to restructure and configure the higher education landscape. Mergers are not new and have been used by many countries to transform or restructure their higher education sector. However, comparison with higher education mergers in other countries would point to the most ambitious change programme ever undertaken in recent times, especially given the large scale of mergers and incorporations that were planned for the South African higher education sector. The Durban University of Technology merger which took place in 2002 preceded the main wave of the Government decreed mergers that took place in 2004 and in 2005. This thesis focuses on contributing to the knowledge of higher education mergers by investigating higher education mergers in South Africa from a micro as well as macro perspective. At a micro level the study undertaken is a case study of the Durban University of Technology (DUT), the first merged higher institution in the country, while from a macro perspective, an examination into the impact that mergers have had on the transformation of the higher education sector. This second part has been undertaken through a perception survey of staff at merged institutions. The emphasis is on providing a detailed analysis of DUT merger in terms of its problems, pitfalls and peculiarities. It covers an examination of the processes, procedures, practices and trials and tribulations when two or more higher education institutions merge. This study is guided by two central research questions. The first is: What can be learned about higher education mergers as examined through the Durban University of Technology (DUT) case study? The second question, whether higher education mergers have been successful or otherwise in South Africa? In particular this question seeks to elicit whether the broader goals and objectives of higher education transformation have been or are being achieved or accomplished through mergers in the sector. The literature review emphasized a conceptual understanding of higher education mergers, merger processes and steps. The review also touches on the limitations and gaps in higher education literature when examined from a iv South African perspective. In particular a detailed study of the South African merger policy development was undertaken. The DUT merger experience allows one to draw a distinction between what is termed the technical merger issues and the soft issues. Technical aspects of a merger would simply be those aspects that have to be done to ensure the physical merger of two or more institutions. In a sense it is the soft issues which shape the merger process. These soft issues largely relate to people, the consultation with stakeholders, the negotiations and the cultural dimensions. Despite the assumption that voluntary mergers are generally easier to negotiate and execute because of the perceived greater involvement of stakeholders, the DUT case provides no evidence to support this position. If anything, the DUT merger although voluntary was at best difficult and beset with people and human relations problems. The findings from the case study point to the following: Government initiated mergers (forced mergers) are less likely to failure because of a greater national agenda; that an all new embracing style of leadership is needed when institutions undergo great changes such as through a merger; that where trade unions exist they will become powerful forces if people management issues are neglected or dealt with poorly during the merger. A genuinely co-operative and consultative process is the way to go; that to overcome past cultural differences a new cultural identity must be established early in the merger by sharing the new vision and mission of the new entity; that mergers could be understood and managed in three distinct phases, which are, the pre-merger phase, the integration phase and the consolidation phase. Equally there are a number of merger steps. By reviewing the processes, procedures and practices of the DUT merger, a model has been developed to understand how mergers take place. In respect of the perception survey of merged institutions, respondents saw some benefits accrue to the academic goals and there were some efficiency gains. More students came into the higher education system. Not many were complementary about their state of physical resources including teaching and learning facilities. Some even felt that teaching and learning were set back during the merger period and this is backed up by key statistics for example like pass rates and dropout rates. Given the difficulty with the softer issues in mergers, much of the blame seems to have been directed at Management and Leadership. Nearly 50% of respondents felt that mergers did not result in high quality Management, while a slightly lower percentage of 42% thought that v mergers did not help establish high quality Councils. Many thought that their governance structures and systems were also weakened. Mergers are complex and it invariably affects the entire institution. It requires careful planning and preparation, inclusivity and a developmental approach to mergers. It also requires effective leaders to manage change of such magnitude. These are the ingredients to ensuring successful higher education mergers.

by Au Yeung Yuk Hang, Tong Henry. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-89). / TABLE OF CONTENTS / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENT --- p.iii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vii / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.4 / Chapter III. --- FAVORABLE OUTCOMES --- p.5 / Synergy Effects --- p.5 / Economies of Scale --- p.6 / Economics of Scope --- p.7 / Better Management --- p.7 / Attract and Retain Talents --- p.8 / Tax Benefits --- p.8 / Risk Diversification --- p.9 / Assets (Loan) --- p.10 / Liabilities (Deposit) --- p.11 / Earnings --- p.12 / Increase Market Share --- p.12 / Entry into New Market --- p.14 / Improve Financial Performance --- p.14 / Too Big To Fail --- p.15 / Ability to Issue Highly-rated Paper --- p.15 / Cheaper Offered Price --- p.16 / Too Big To Swallow --- p.17 / Chapter IV. --- CAUSES OF FAILURE --- p.18 / Culture Clashes --- p.21 / Management Changes --- p.22 / Customer Grievance --- p.23 / Employees Dissatisfaction --- p.24 / Computer System --- p.24 / Y2K Problem --- p.25 / Controversy before merger or acquisition --- p.26 / Relationship between Acquirer Bank and Acquired Bank --- p.27 / Lack of Agreed Objective --- p.27 / Unfulfilled Acquirer Bank Management Promises --- p.28 / Improper or Unstable Position in the merged bank --- p.29 / Over Dependence on a Few Executives --- p.30 / Acquired Bank Out of Acquirer Bank's Expectation --- p.30 / Acquirer Bank Deceived by Acquired Bank --- p.31 / Paid Too Much --- p.32 / Corporate Indigestion --- p.32 / Acquirer bank does not understand the business of the acquired bank --- p.33 / Improbable Events --- p.33 / Family Control --- p.34 / Anti-takeover Response --- p.35 / Litigation by Target Firm --- p.36 / Poison Pills --- p.36 / Greenmail --- p.36 / Keeping the Stock Price at High Level --- p.37 / White Knight --- p.37 / Chapter V. --- CASE STUDY: THE ACQUISITION OF OVERSEAS TRUST BANK (OTB) BY DAO HENG BANK (DHB) --- p.38 / Introduction --- p.38 / Company Background before the Acquisition --- p.39 / Dao Heng Bank (DHB) --- p.39 / Overseas Trust Bank (OTB) --- p.40 / Highlights in Acquisition --- p.42 / Timetable of Major Events --- p.42 / Financing Package --- p.43 / Favorable Outcomes to Dao Heng Bank in the Acquisition --- p.43 / Gigantic Organic Growth and Being One of Regional Banking Leaders --- p.44 / Extraordinary Financial Performance --- p.44 / Improving Operating Efficiency by Synergy --- p.45 / Risk Diversification --- p.47 / Adequate Capital for Exploring New Opportunities --- p.48 / "Recruitment, Retention and Retraining Banking Professionals for Future Development" --- p.49 / Able to Issue High-rated Paper --- p.50 / Difficulties to Dao Heng Bank in the Acquisition --- p.50 / Culture Clashes --- p.51 / Sudden Change of Management Level --- p.51 / Maintaining the Customer Confidence --- p.52 / Agreement with the Government --- p.52 / Employees Distress and Dissatisfaction --- p.52 / The Compatibility of Computer System --- p.53 / Chapter VI. --- RECOMMENDATIONS --- p.54 / Structural Changes --- p.55 / Criteria of a healthy Structural Change --- p.55 / Process and Operating System Changes --- p.55 / Culture Change --- p.56 / Good Planning --- p.57 / Easing Culture Clash --- p.58 / Respecting Cultures --- p.58 / Systematically Learning about Partners' Cultures --- p.59 / Determine Merged Culture --- p.60 / Employee Satisfaction --- p.60 / Good Employee Communication --- p.61 / Manage Psychological Force & Emotional Climate --- p.63 / Reward Right People and Let Wrong People Go --- p.63 / Get Employee Involved --- p.64 / "Deal with Disparities in Compensation, Benefits, and Incentive Programs" --- p.64 / Customer Retention --- p.65 / Focus on the Business Customer Base --- p.65 / Deal with Customers' Uncertainty --- p.66 / Conducts Extensive Researches --- p.66 / Measuring Customers Satisfaction --- p.67 / Recognize and Reward Top Retainers --- p.67 / Computer Systems --- p.68 / Determining business requirements --- p.68 / Due Diligence --- p.68 / Assessing compatibilities --- p.69 / Setting priorities --- p.69 / Developing an integration plan --- p.70 / Well Documentation --- p.70 / Get System managers involved before Mergers and Acquisitions --- p.71 / Y2K Problem --- p.71 / Chapter VII. --- FUTURE PROSPECT --- p.72 / APPENDIX 1 --- p.74 / APPENDIX 2 --- p.77 / APPENDIX 3 --- p.80 / APPENDIX 4 --- p.81 / APPENDIX 5 --- p.82 / APPENDIX 6 --- p.83 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.84

Fusioner av myndigheter har blivit ett allt mer vanligt inslag i Europa och innefattar bland annat samgåenden mellan starka universitet och mindre högskolor. Anledningen till fusionerna är att skapa kvalitet i utbildningen, framförallt hos den mindre högskolan. Dock finns det aspekter som talar emot sammanslagningar då de kan skapa negativa effekter, främst på grund av kulturskillnader mellan de samgående myndigheterna. Förändringar är något som uppstår frekvent i organisationer och något som då påverkas i stor utsträckning är organisationskulturen. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka hur organisationskulturer förväntas bli påverkade i samband med en fusion. Fokus ligger på de kulturella skillnader som finns mellan samgående myndigheter, där den ena organisationen är större och har mer inflytande än den andra. I teoridelen av uppsatsen behandlas förändringar i organisationen, där människan har en huvudroll för utfallet av fusionen. Därefter behandlas ämnet organisationskultur genom att vi tar läsaren genom två olika perspektiv, nämligen det moderna perspektivet och ett styrningsperspektiv. Subkulturer i förändringsprocesser behandlas sedan och avslutningsvis visas en operationalisering av de olika teorierna genom en sammanfattande modell. Litteraturen som använts är vetenskapliga artiklar i ämnet samt grundverket av Schein (1992). Metoden som använts är en fallstudie av fusionen mellan Högskolan på Gotland (Hgo) och Uppsala universitet (UU). Fallstudien består av en undersökningsmix där intervjuer med nyckelpersoner i organisationen och samgåendet, enkät med personalen vid Hgo samt dokumentanalyser ingått. De olika metoderna har sedan i kombination med den teoretiska modellen gjort att vi kunnat genomföra en analys av fusionen. Den förväntade påverkan som en fusion kommer att skapa hos en mindre myndighet i samgåendet med en större myndighet skiljer sig en del hos medarbetare och det finns både positiva och negativa föreställningar. Hgo:s flexibla och oformella arbetssätt byts ut mot ett mer formellt och stabilt förhållningssätt med längre beslutsvägar men med mer förankrade beslut. Eventuellt kommer det att uppstå en subkultur där Campus Gotland har kvar den kultur de byggt upp inom Hgo. Risken finns då att det blir en oenig organisation som spretar åt olika håll, men målet enligt intervjurespondenterna är att skapa det bästa av två världar. Om Hgo:s positiva delar av organisationskulturen kan kvarstå tillsammans med stabiliteten som UU ger Campus Gotland har förväntningarna från nyckelpersonerna infriats. Andra resultat som framkommit av studien är att det vid fusion mellan en mindre och en större myndighet bör lyftas upp kulturskillnader för att försöka kombinera dem på bästa sätt. Att försöka bilda en enad, ny sammanslagen organisation genom att skapa delaktighet hos anställda i processerna är en aspekt som förväntas påverka utfallet i en positiv bemärkelse. Något vi upptäckte i undersökningen var att de djupare delarna i organisationskulturen, de underliggande antaganden, var de som förväntades förändras i störst grad vid en fusion, vilket kan ses som ett stort problem som skapar oro hos anställda. / Mergers of public authorities have become an increasingly common feature and include mergers between strong universities and smaller colleges. There are aspects that militate against mergers because they can create a negative impact, mainly because of the cultural differences between the merging authorities. This paper examines how organizational cultures are expected to be influenced in mergers. Focus is on the cultural differences between merging agencies, when one organization is larger and has more influence than the other. A case study was made of the merger between Uppsala University and Gotland University, based on a research mix which included interviews with key persons in the merger, a poll with the staff at Gotland University and document analysis. The conclusion of this study is that cultural differences should be lifted to the surface so that they can be combined. To create a united new, merged organization it is necessary to raise participation among employees in the merger process. A result that we found in the study was that the deeper parts of the organizational culture, the underlying assumptions, were those that expected to change the most in the merger, which is viewed as a major problem that creates anxiety among employees.

Univ., Diss--Bamberg, 2001.

The National Health Laboratory Service is a single national entity to provide laboratory services to the public sector in SA. The NHLS came into being by amalgamating five large independent pathology service providers. The research will provide insight on how to manage change and stakeholder relations during mergers.

This study investigates what impact mergers and acquisitions have on bank efficiency by examining both pre-merger and post-merger performance. Specifically, the research looks at the effect of bank efficiency on shareholder wealth creation upon bank merger announcement. The study finds supportive evidence that the market takes into account the pre-merger bidder bank’s efficiency in adjusting the bank stock’s price at the time of announcement. This suggests that bank efficiency has a significant positive effect on shareholder wealth creation when a merger is announced. Furthermore, in reacting to the announcement, the market also perceives the prospects for future enhancement of bank efficiency as a result of the current event. Thus, post-merger bank efficiency is found to also contribute to shareholder value creation on merger announcement. In particular, the study finds evidence suggesting that post-merger profit efficiency, rather than cost efficiency, has a positive effect on cumulative abnormal returns. The study investigates 56 commercial bank mergers that took place in 22 European countries between 2001 and 2007. The event study methodology is used to determine shareholder wealth creation, employing the market model in estimating expected returns. Efficiency is estimated using the parametric stochastic frontier approach. Performance improvement in the combined firm is obtained by comparing post-merger efficiency with pre-merger efficiency, which is the sum of bidder and target efficiencies after weighting them based on their pre-merger total assets. To find out whether efficiency has an effect on shareholder value creation, regression analyses are performed involving cumulative abnormal returns, a few efficiency variables, and a number of control variables. The main finding of this study is that pre-merger bank efficiency contributes to short-term shareholder value creation upon merger announcement. Some evidence is also found that post-merger bank efficiency has a positive effect on shareholder value creation at announcement time which is associated more with profit efficiency than with cost efficiency. Also, as the study finds statistically significant positive cumulative abnormal returns, the results of this study are supportive of the view that, increasingly, European merger studies that examine post-2000 data find that bank mergers are value-creating even for the bidding firms. Evidence that pre-merger bank efficiency has a positive effect on cumulative abnormal returns, and that the market takes into account perceived future bank efficiency on merger announcement, underscores the importance of efficiency as a performance measure. If how the market reacts to a merger announcement reflects future efficiency performance, shareholders, policy makers, and other stakeholders may be able to take that as one of the factors on which they can base their decisions regarding the yet uncompleted merger. They can also use previous efficiency records for predicting short-term and long-term performance of prospective parties to a merger before announcement.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration