Mergers and acquisitions are going to be a part of our business scene for many years to come and for a good reason. The late 1990s can be characterised as the largest wave of acquisitions in terms of the number and total value of deals that the world has ever experienced. We are probably entering a new business cycle of corporate acquisitions Everywhere around us companies are combining their resources, whole industries are being restructured, market leaders and market followers interchange positions with great speed. Companies that were once the leaders of the game are left behind and forced to find new bases on which to compete.

Some firms see acquisitions as a “quick fix” for what they feel is missing from their company. This “mad dash” to find a partner, prompts companies to enter into an “unknown world” where they may not have the ability to extract, never mind identify, the potential benefits. This rush to comply with the demands of the ever-changing markets not only leads to acquisitions that should never have taken place but also to the failure of acquisitions that were undertaken under the best circumstances.