The Value Killers, 1st ed. 2019 How Mergers and Acquisitions Cost Companies Billions—And How to Prevent It

In a business climate marked by escalating global competition and industry disruption, successful mergers and acquisitions are increasingly vital to the growth and profitability of many corporations. If history is any guide, 60 to 70 per cent of new mergers will fail ? and will destroy shareholder value. To date, analyses of the M&A failure rate tend to focus on individual causes ? e.g., culture clashes, valuation methods, or CEO overconfidence ? rather than examining the problem holistically. The Value Killers is the first book based on a holistic analysis of successful and unsuccessful transactions. Based on research, interviews with top executives, and case studies, this book identifies the key causes of failures and successes and offers prescriptions to increase the odds that future transactions will deliver all the anticipated synergies. 

Nuno Fernandes is Full Professor of Finance at IESE Business School, Spain. He is also a research associate of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), and the Chairman of the Board of Auditors of the Portuguese Central Bank (Banco de Portugal). Prior to joining IESE, he was the Dean of Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics. In addition, he was, for a decade, Professor of Finance at IMD (Lausanne, Switzerland). At IMD, Professor Fernandes directed the Strategic Finance program, among other customized programs for leading international companies. He was also a member of the Advisory Committee for the World Economic Forum, and a Visiting Scholar at Columbia Business School (New York). A specialist in corporate finance, international financial markets, and emerging market risks, Fernandes has been published in leading international academic journals, including the Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of International Business Studies, and the Journal of Portfolio Management. He speaks at business conferences in Asia, Europe, and North America, and is a regular contributor to The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal. Fernandes advises companies and financial institutions in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East on formulating winning financial strategies, investments, international valuations, M&As, and risk management. His work has earned recognition that includes the AEFIN prize and a grant from the FDIC (the U.S. regulator for financial institutions). In 2008, he received the Lamfalussy Fellowship from the European Central Bank.

The first book based on a holistic analysis of successful and unsuccessful M&A transactions

Identifies the key causes of failures and successes in mergers and acquisitions and offers prescriptions to increase the odds that future transactions will deliver all the anticipated synergies

Offers practical advice to help managers and boards ensure that target companies are properly valued, potential synergies and risks are identified in advance, and checks and balances are installed

Gathers decades of research alongside in-depth interviews and case studies of more than a dozen executives from around the world, all of whom have hands-on experience with successful (and sometimes unsuccessful) mergers and acquisitions