Notes on Contributors vii Preface xv Part I: Overview 1 1. M&A as Horizons 3 Duncan Angwin Part II: Pre-Acquisition 25 2. M&A as Success 27 Mark Whittington and Ken Bates 3. M&A as Illusion 63 Chris Smith 4. M&A as Warfare 87 Stephen Cummings and Sally Riad 5. M&A as Power 116 Glenn Morgan 6. M&A as Risk 153 Matthew Checkley Part III: Post-Acquisition 179 7. M&A as Project 181 Philippe Very and Stephen Gates 8. M&A as Boundaries 204 Derek O’Byrne 9. M&A as Knowledge 229 Laura Empson 10. M&A as Stereotypes 256 Eero Vaara and Janne Tienari 11. M&A as Imperialism 276 Simon Collinson Part IV: Integration 297 12. M&A as Linkages 299 David Schweiger, Erin Mitchell, Justin Scott, Caroline Brown 13. M&A as Practice 329 Duncan Angwin 14. M&A as Time 357 Duncan Angwin, Scott Dacko and Matthew Checkley Mergers and Acquisitions: A Primer 383 Appendix 1: At What Price Should Tesco Buy Greggs? 409 Glossary of Terms 426 References and Further Reading 433 Index 455

Part of the new Blackwell Images of Business Strategy series: this highly topical book provides multi-disciplinary perspectives on the important area of Mergers & Acquisitions, ranging from finance to psychology, on the subject of mergers and acquisitions. A stimulating mixture of critique, analysis and cases, each chapter: Introduces key frameworks that relate to a particular perspective Incorporates case studies where these frameworks can be used for interpretive and diagnostic purposes Invites readers to apply the frameworks as maps or tools for analysing their own organisational experiences via a series of general discussion questions Seeks to develop its perspective by offering analytical insights into actual experiences of mergers and acquisitions in different global contexts, successful and unsuccessful, presenting new empirically based evidence to support the arguments. Drawn from around the world, each author is a leading exponent in his or her perspective on mergers and acquisitions. Images of Business Strategy Series blurb: Books in the series interrogate conventional categories in today’s fast-changing business world. By applying new perspectives, they redefine established territories and extend our view of important business phenomena. Select international contributions to each volume are integrated by the Editor to provide a richer insight into the business landscape and open up new conceptual horizons.

"This book is unique in its approach to M&A. Rather than simply falling into one of the established, academic M&A "schools" such as strategy or finance, it breaks ground on a new school – the practitioner school." Henry W. Lane, Northeastern University