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Great question to ask – I was inspired by the Cadbury takeover and the leadership of the CEO. He put egos aside, focused on direct and ongoing engagement with his shareholders, and focused on his primary responsibility – maximize shareholder value. When it became clear he wasn’t going to resist the takeover, he compiled a talented defense team and instead was strategic in positively impacting the deal.
Both the Air India and the Cadbury case studies and most inspiring case studies for me. One for the significant pitfalls to avoid when leading an M&A and the other for the agility and response undertaken by a target once takeover was inevitable.
I think all cases were well chosen and inspiring. However, I particularly enjoyed the Cadbury case. I was very impressed with Cadbury’s team. Did they a great job at defending themselves and maximizing the shareholders’ investment.
I am very much motivated by all case studies. It´s a great way to learn: to see the video, to read the article and finally to work on the case study.
My favourite topic and article are “the five-forces” by Michael Porter and the respective case study “Coopers”.
I realized that this M&A training is not just a way to learn about M&A, but it´s teaching us to look at the business as a whole, big picture view. It teaches us to think like a CEO, considering all aspects of the business.
I am very much inspired by this program — a great place to be and to grow.
I really like the Cadbury defence case that gave me the insight how the target company used different defense mechanisms to prevent the hostile takeover. It is important to learn that senior leadership team should understand/know the ‘true’ value of the company, such that they are able to defend the company until the price of independence is exceeded by the shareholder value created by sale. As the Board and senior leadership team, they have a fiduciary duty to shareholder to serve their interests and maximize the shareholder value.
Air India case. Initiating, planning for and strategizing an M&A is not complete until the successful integration.
As so many said that the cadbury case have inspired them the most, I was wondering if you want to share what your personal lesson learned was from this case? Mine was that these defence mechanisms are really dynamic and that it is hard to foresee what the result will be. Also, that even if all kind of experts are involved and tactics to avoid the attack are played, you can “lose”, because in the end it is about the majority of shareholders and their perception of the price and cash content.
I was inspired by Cadbury case, how the company used different tactics to prevent unwanted takeover, particularly if the buyer misses to respect the historical confection of the target. Moreover, it came to my attention that public news can play a major role in cross-border deals especially if the target is a well-known company. Having an anti-takeover defence strategy can allow shareholders sometimes to extract a higher price from a bidder.
The Cooper’s case study was very interesting as you get to see how good insight into mergers and acquisitions can really make or break a company.
For me, the Polycom case inspired me the most. It was clear that despite not having a documented process, they rigorously considered the financial, strategic abd cultural aspects of the integration. Moreover, focussed acquisition on small development organisations that had closing criteria tied to product release/sales targets reduced the risk on deals where due diligence was difficult.
Great question! Having professional experience primarily in aerospace and defense, I think the most interesting case for me was the Air India case. It’s a classic study in what I like to call ‘assumption conjunction’ – management or governing agencies fundamentally glean over diligence and lack information fundamental to make strategic decisions in a timely manner. If only short-term gains are considered, it is very likely M&A will fail during integration.
I really felt like the Cadbury defense was incredibly interesting. He used multiple tactics and methods to increase valuation and put the stakeholders in the forefront. It was an excellent case study of the many ways an executive can set themselves up as the advocate for the company.
I think all the examples were well chosen, but the Cadbury case struck a particular chord with me from both a practical and legal standpoint. Because if we pay close attention, the Board of Directors adhere to the rules when performing their tricks, and once they became aware that the company was being sold, they switched their priorities from protecting the business to maximizing shareholder returns, which can occasionally be two completely different objectives.
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