Tag: acquisition strategy

Tax Inversions: Foreign Acquisitions for a Lower Tax Rate

As tax day approaches in the U.S. I thought it’d be appropriate to discuss a business tax trend. As you may be with your own return, U.S. corporations are looking for more tax advantages.  Many are seeking tax inversions, where they reincorporate in a new country with a lower tax rate as a result of …

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Cost Synergies Ill-Suited for Long-Term Growth for Men’s Wearhouse

After battling for six months, Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank finally came to an acquisition agreement on March 11 for $1.8 billion, forming the country’s fourth-largest men’s retailer. Men’s Wearhouse expects cost synergies of $100-150 million over the next three years to result from the deal, including the benefit of better purchasing power. While …

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Finding the Best Acquisition Opportunities

“The best opportunities are the ones we’re pursuing and not the other way around.” This comment in The Wall Street Journal from Smadar Levi, CFO of MyHeritage.com, is one I wholeheartedly agree with. She is quoted in an article about the growing number of startups seeking to be acquired. With fewer financing options available to …

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When to Mention Acquisition to an Owner

When do you let an owner of a privately-held not-for-sale company know you are interested in acquisition? While, I’ve mentioned that an owner will not sell their company over the phone, this doesn’t mean you should hide your interest in acquisition. You should introduce acquisition at the beginning of the process. In your first call …

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The Greatest Hurdle Facing Tech Mergers

The biggest tech M&A disasters were the Time Warner-AOL $350 billion merger and Google’s $12.3 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility.  In my observations, the greatest hurdle facing tech mergers is integration. Even where the strategy of the acquisition is solid, if the integration of the two workforces and assets is not executed properly, it will fail.  Even …

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Facebook Offered $3 Billion to Acquire Snapchat

Facebook’s $3 billion offer to buy Snapchat points to a growing number of mobile technology acquisitions. Yesterday The Wall Street Journal reported Facebook offered $3 billion to acquire Snapchat. While Snapchat has declined, Facebook’s offer points to growing trend of technology companies acquiring rather than building new mobile apps. Most recently, we’ve seen a string …

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Signs You May Be Buying the Wrong Company

Buying the right company is essential, but it is difficult.  It may be easier to eliminate the “wrong” companies – prospects with glaring due diligence issues such as theft or lawsuits, or even more subjective issues like a poor cultural fit. However, the decision is not always so black and white. How can you know …

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Do You Need a M&A Advisor?

From my perspective of largely successful acquisitions, most acquisitions end in failure because they are missing a third-party advisor. A third-party advisor can play an irreplaceable role on your acquisition team as an ‘‘outside insider’’ who can unearth hidden intelligence, resolve stubborn conflicts, help cooler heads prevail, and maintain a strategic perspective from beginning to …

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Key Insights from “M&A as Competitive Advantage”

By John Dearing, Managing Director McKinsey & Company recently published an article on using M&A as a tool to give your company a competitive advantage. The article addresses some key aspects of M&A we find important at Capstone. You should develop your strategy first when approaching M&A and always have a full pipeline of acquisition …

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How Acquisitions Can Help Small Businesses Grow

Did you know about 97% of acquisitions are small to mid-sized companies? Acquisition is an effective tool that can be used by companies of any size, not just those in the Fortune 500. To see how, watch my interview with Matthew Lesko. When we think of mergers and acquisitions, we often only think of mergers …

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