The growth in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity around the world masks a high rate of failure. M&A can provide companies with many benefits, but in the optimism and excitement of the deal many of the challenges are often overlooked. This comprehensive collection, bringing together an international team of contributors, moves beyond the theory to focus on the practical elements of mergers and acquisitions.

This hands-on, step-by-step volume provides strategies, frameworks, guidelines, and ample examples for managing and optimizing M&A performance, including:

• ways to analyze different types of synergy;
• understanding and analyzing cultural difference along corporate and national cultural dimensions, using measurement tools;
• using negotiation, due diligence, and planning to analyze the above factors; making use of this data during negotiation, screening, planning, agreement, and when deciding on post-merger integration approaches.

Students, researchers, and managers will find this text a vital resource when it comes to understanding this key facet of the international business world.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) can provide companies with many benefits, including new capabilities, technologies, products, immediate entry into new markets, and lower operation costs through consolidation of resources. But in the optimism and excitement of the deal many of the challenges are often overlooked. This comprehensive collection brings together an international team of experts who use a hands-on, step-by-step approach to provide tools and strategies for managing and optimizing M&A performance.

'This book is a valuable guide for scholars approaching this multifaceted intriguing subject.' - Arturo Capasso, Università del Sannio, Italy 'As an experienced executive with an academic background, it is exciting and challenging to recommend this very professional selection of articles dealing with acquisition, merger and integration processes. This "body of knowledge" - theory analysis and operational implication - represents different perspectives but draws common links between them. It is an important contribution toa better understanding of the M&A phenomenon.' -Dr. Haim Benyamini, Former Vice President ofHR, TEVA Pharmaceuticals Corporation 'This book expands on and integrates theories and perspectives from various domains to better understand the motives, management and implications of mergers and acquisitions in an international context. The editors and authors illuminate the challenges in crafting and implementing mergers and acquisitions and offer new and significant insights to scholars, students and practitioners who are interested in the challenge of growing a firm in an international setting.' - Prof. Avraham Carmeli, Professor of Strategy and Management, Tel Aviv University, Israel 'This book advances our understanding of M&A in an important manner. In particular, it highlights processes and dynamics that have, as of yet, been poorly understood. The chapters provide a number of insights that both researchers and practitioners can enjoy and learn from.' - Eero Vaara, Professor, Department of Management Studies, Aalto University School of Business, Finland