Applied Mergers and Acquisitions

"Bob Bruner's Applied Mergers and Acquisitions is a masterful and comprehensive treatment of the topic of M&A. The book is remarkably complete, discussing economic valuation, legal considerations, deal structure, ethics, accounting, post-merger integration–and more. It blends material from practice and from academia in an easy-to-read style, making it a must-read, and want-to-read, for anyone interested in this subject."
–Peter Tufano
Sylvan C. Coleman Professor of Financial Management, Harvard Business School

"Preeminent scholar Robert Bruner has combined the best insights from theory with proven lessons from industry to produce the definitive resource on mergers and acquisitions. Bruner’s renowned teaching skills and keen intellect are evident throughout, rendering a must-read for finance students, investors, and corporate executives into a remarkably enjoyable read."
–Mark Kritzman
Managing Partner, Windham Capital Management Boston and Research Director, The Research Foundation of the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR)

"How many books really succeed in teaching M&A practitioners to distinguish among deals that should be avoided, deals that are promising but can’t be executed by the teams involved, and deals where significant value can be achieved? We should start the count with Bruner's Applied Mergers and Acquisitions. Bruner is the ultimate teacher for practitioners who want to improve performance."
–Edward A. Snyder
Dean and George Pratt Shultz Professor of Economics University of Chicago Graduate School of Business

"Bob Bruner has achieved the impossible: covering in one book all relevant economic, financial, accounting, legal, and tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions and illustrating each concept with case studies. Impressive!"
–Theo Vermaelen
Professor of Finance, INSEAD

"Bob Bruner's book combines the best of academic thinking and business practice on one of the most fascinating and challenging topics in all of business. The area of mergers and acquisitions stretches executives and scholars to consider the whole realm of management practice–from strategy, to finance, to law, to negotiations, to integration planning, to human behavior."
–Robert S. Harris
Dean, Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia

Mergers and acquisitions is no easy path to riches or career advancement. All you have to do is open a newspaper or turn on your television to watch some of the most well-thought-out deals fall apart at the seams. But despite the material failure rates of mergers and acquisitions, those pulling the trigger on key strategic decisions can make them work if they exercise great care and rigor in the development of their M&A deals. It is possible to succeed in the world of mergers and acquisitions, and this book can put you on the right track to do so.

By addressing the key factors of M&A success and failure, Applied Mergers and Acquisitions shows you the best ways to analyze, design, and implement M&A deals. Written by one of the foremost thinkers and educators in the field, this invaluable resource won’t offer you a rigid guide to M&A success--because there is no set way to make M&A work--but it will introduce you to the art and science of M&A valuation, reveal the nuances of deal negotiation and bargaining, as well as provide you with a framework for considering tradeoffs in an effort to optimize the value of any M&A deal.

Applied Mergers and Acquisitions is filled with in-depth insights, expert advice, and numerous real-world M&A case studies that clearly illustrate the ideas described throughout the book. It is also fully supported by value-added learning tools--including a CD-ROM and Workbook--that may be purchased concurrently or at a later date to further enhance the reader’s overall learning experience with the core text.

Important M&A issues discussed include:

• Strategies and the origination of transaction proposals
• Analysis of transaction proposals, terms, and tactics
• The design of detailed transaction terms
• Rules of the road: governance, laws, and regulations
• Competition, hostility, and behavioral effects in M&A
• Communication, integration, and best practices

Through a focus on ideas and their application, Applied Mergers and Acquisitions answers many difficult M&A questions, including: What is the best practice in M&A, and how can you understand M&A activity? By illustrating the tools, concepts, and processes essential to M&A success, this comprehensive survey of the M&A field will increase your chances of a favorable outcome in any potential deal.

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.