A comprehensive guide to the world of mergers and acquisitions

Why do so many M&A transactions fail? And what drives the success of those deals that are consummated? Robert Bruner explains that M&A can be understood as a response by managers to forces of turbulence in their environment. Despite the material failure rates of mergers and acquisitions, those pulling the trigger on key strategic decisions can make them work if they spend great care and rigor in the development of their M&A deals. By addressing the key factors of M&A success and failure, Applied Mergers and Acquisitions can help readers do this. Written by one of the foremost thinkers and educators in the field, this invaluable resource teaches readers the art and science of M&A valuation, deal negotiation, and bargaining, and provides a framework for considering tradeoffs in an effort to optimize the value of any M&A deal. Applied Mergers and Acquisitions is part of a complete suite of resources on M&A that includes a workbook and a CD-ROM with additional spreadsheets.

Robert F. Bruner, MBA, DBA (Charlottesville, VA), is the Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School at the University of Virginia and Executive Director of the Batten Institute. He directs the Darden School's executive education course on mergers and acquisitions, and teaches the popular MBA elective on that topic. He holds a BA from Yale University, and a MBA and DBA from Harvard University.