High-value mergers✤ among global or domestic business corporations have always attracted attention and spawned case studies as they have interesting implications for busi🎃ness development.
A well-executed merger allows for higher returns for investors in the form of higher shareholder value๊, reduced operational costs for corporations, and increased revenue and sales. Through M&A, companies look for more diversification in their offerings, augmented pr🌼oduction capacity, increased market share, and better utilization of operations.
Many of the largest merger🀅s, like those described herein, include cross-border, high-value transactions, and some have had varying levels of success.
Key Takeaways
- High-value mergers can be beneficial to stakeholders by leading to higher returns for investors, reduced costs, and increased market share for corporations.
- Some of the biggest mergers in history, like AOL and Time Warner, have had varying levels of success.
- The $130 billion merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont created a focused business in agriculture, materials science, and specialty products.
- Many mergers make headlines, such as those in healthcare and tech, but not all are successful due to market dynamics, cultural integration, and other factors.
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Investopedia / Sabrina Jiang
America Online and Time Warner
The 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:largest merger in history took place in 2000 when America Online (AOL) merged with Time Warner Inc. (TWX) in a deal worth a staggering $350 billion.
At the time, AOL was the largest Internet provider in the U.S. Riding high on its success and the massive market share that it had across American households, AOL decided to merge with Time Warner, the mass media and entertainment conglomerate.
The vision was that the new entity, AOL Time Warner, would become a dominant force in the news, publishing, music, entertainment, cable, and Internet industries. After the merger, AOL became the largest technology company in America.
However, the joint phase lasted less than a decade. As AOL lost value and the dotcom bubble burst, the expected successes of the merger failed to materialize, and AOL and Time Warner spun off to operate as independent companies.
Dow Chemical and DuPont
Announced in 2015 and completed in 2017, the $130 billion 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:mega-merger of equals was executed to create highly focused businesses in agriculture, material science, and specialty products.
The merger was expected to deliver around $3 billion in cost synergies and another $1 billion in expected upside from growth synergies from the merged entities. The new company operated as DowDuPont.
Dow shareholders received a fixed exchange ratio of 1.00 share of DowDuPont for each Dow share they had, while DuPont shareholders received a fixed exchange ratio of 1.282 shares of DowDuPont for each DuPont share.
Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller
The merger deal between the world’s two largest brewers, Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, was worth $104.3 billion and was executed in 2016.
London-listed SABMiller agreed to merge with Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev, and the deal combined SABMiller’s Castle Lager with InBev’s Budweiser, Stella Artois, and Corona brands with an aim to take them into fast-growing African and Latin American markets.
Fast Fact
SABMiller accepted a bid that was 50% higher than its closing price one day before the media spread the word about the merger.
H. J. Heinz and Kraft Foods
The $100 billion merger of H. J. Heinz Co. and The Kraft Foods Group was aimed to create a U.S. food giant and the fifth-largest food and drink company in the world. The deal was announced in 2015 and created a newly merged entity with the name The Kraft Heinz Company.
It brought leading household food brands, like Philadelphia, Capri Sun, Heinz Ketchup, and HP sauce, under one roof. The revenues of the newly merged entity at the time were pegged at around $28 billion.
Exxon and Mobil
In November 1999, oil powerhouses Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. secured approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to complete their $81 billion merger. Exxon was then the industry leader, while Mobil was number two in the field.
The merger required extensive restructuring for the joint entity, which included a sell-off of more than 2,400 stations of the two companies spread across the United States.
The deal was cited as one of the most successful in M&A history, and the joint entity continues to trade under the name Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) on NYSE.
What Is the Difference Between a Merger and an Acquisition?
While often used interchangeably, there are dꦐistinct distinctions between mergers and acqu🥃isitions. Mergers bring together two companies to create one new company. It is seen as an equal pairing and collaboration. An acquisition is when one company buys another company. The company being bought often ceases to exist but it may continue to operate as a brand under the parent company.
Why Do Some Mergers and Acquisitions Fail?
Some mergers and acquisitions fail due to many reasons. These include poor integration, culture clashes, misaligned goals, and overstated synergies. Differences in management style, operational inefficiencies, and bad communication also contribute to failures. Companies can prevent this by doing proper due diligence beforehand to ensure there is cultura🐈l compatibility, setting clear, aligned goals, communicating effectively, and creating a detailed ౠand smooth transition plan.
Why Do Companies Merge?
Merging two companies can be be𒁏neficial for both and leave them better off than if they had continued as separate companies. Reasons companies merge include expanding market share, gaining access to new technologies, reducing competition, achieving cost savings, and reaching new geographical markets. Mergers can also lead to combined growth and stronger financials by leveraging combined expertise.
The Bottom Line
Healthcare, financial services, retail, and technology sectors see a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:larg🔯e numb🏅er of mergers and acquisitions. While high-value mergers and acquisitions always m𝕴ake headlines, not all ౠof them result in success.
Most get executed during the growth phase of a particular sector with high anticipation of success, but failures linked to other factors, like cultural integration, geographical 🎶and geopolitical issues, and market d⛦ynamics, often mar the expected success.