The Applied Mergers and Acquisitions Workbook provides a useful self-training study guide for readers of Applied Mergers and Acquisitions who want to review the drivers of M&A success and failure. Useful review questions as well as problems and answers are provided for both professionals and students. Readers will further their knowledge, build practical intuition, and learn the art and science of M&A by using this comprehensive self-study workbook in conjunction with the main text. APPLIED MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS WORKBOOK Mergers and acquisitions is no easy path to riches or career advancement, but with the Applied Mergers and Acquisitions Workbook you can hone your skills and test your knowledge, so you can hit the ground running in this complex area of business. The Applied Mergers and Acquisitions Workbook provides a useful self-training study guide for those who want to fully understand what drives M&A success and failure. Useful review questions as well as problems and answers are provided for both professionals and students. By using this comprehensive self-study Workbook in conjunction with the core book, Applied Mergers and Acquisitions, you can further your knowledge of this complex field, build practical intuition, and learn the art and science of mergers and acquisitions. Techniques explored include valuation of synergies, valuation of options, option-like assets, and risk management terms. The Applied Mergers and Acquisitions Workbook also: Presents real-world M&A problems with actual solutions - Includes in-depth questions to test your M&A knowledge - Offers a self-study course to review M&A decision-making tradeoffs, while discussing all the driving forces of M&A success The Applied Mergers and Acquisitions Workbook reviews the tools, concepts, and processes essential to M&A success, and will help you to understand and succeed in a highly competetive business environment. APPLIED MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS WORKBOOK Mergers and acquisitions is no easy path to riches or career advancement, but with the Applied Mergers and Acquisitions Workbook you can hone your skills and test your knowledge, so you can hit the ground running in this complex area of business. The Applied Mergers and Acquisitions Workbook provides a useful self-training study guide for those who want to fully understand what drives M&A success and failure. Useful review questions as well as problems and answers are provided for both professionals and students. By using this comprehensive self-study Workbook in conjunction with the core book, Applied Mergers and Acquisitions, you can further your knowledge of this complex field, build practical intuition, and learn the art and science of mergers and acquisitions. Techniques explored include valuation of synergies, valuation of options, option-like assets, and risk management terms. The Applied Mergers and Acquisitions Workbook also: Presents real-world M&A problems with actual solutions - Includes in-depth questions to test your M&A knowledge - Offers a self-study course to review M&A decision-making tradeoffs, while discussing all the driving forces of M&A success The Applied Mergers and Acquisitions Workbook reviews the tools, concepts, and processes essential to M&A success, and will help you to understand and succeed in a highly competetive business environment. ROBERT F. BRUNER is the Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of the University of Virginia and Executive Director of the Batten Institute. He directs the Darden School's executive education course on mergers and acquisitions, and teaches the popular MBA elective on that topic. He is the author of over 250 case studies and a casebook, Case Studies in Finance: Managing for Corporate Value Creation, which has been adopted for use at over 200 schools. Bruner's articles have been published in the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Accounting and Economics, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, the Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, and Financial Management. He has served as a consultant to over twenty corporations as well as to the U.S. Government, and prior to his academic career, worked as a commercial banker and venture capitalist. Bruner holds a BA from Yale University, and an MBA and DBA from Harvard University. Applied Mergers and Acquisitions Workbook By Robert F. Bruner John Wiley & Sons Copyright © 2004 Robert F. Bruner All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-471-39585-0 Chapter One Introduction and Executive Summary M&A (mergers and acquisitions) is one of the most important means by which companies respond to changing conditions. Many firms have no alternative but to merge, acquire, or be acquired. Although M&A is often portrayed as a gamble that one cannot win, it is possible to succeed in M&A. However, competitive forces may limit the chances of success. * M&A is a world of contingencies