Is there any good Book on Past Mergers and Acquisition - Successful and Unsuccessful real deals
Hi fellow monkeys,
I am looking to read stories and accounts of past mergers and acquisition deals (past 2-3 decades). On Amazon and other websites, I only find technical books 'how to do merger and acquisition' which i don't want. I want the stories of actual deals, people involved.
If not any book, is there other resource?
Because its difficult to track current deals which are live. News comes infrequently and does not give complete background picture of the deal. It will also be useful if I can comprehend differences in the different sectors. As of now I don't have inclination for any particular sector, I would like to know about them so that when I have opportunity to choose a sector in IB, I would be better informed. Where can get such material?
If there is previous thread on same topic, I am sorry but will appreciate if you put the link.
Thank you.
Not sure about books, but I subscribe to Dan Primack's Term Sheet via Forbes.com. It covers current M&A activity among other industry news. I usually read it quick when I get in in the morning. Would recommend subscribing.
Gods at War (http://www.amazon.com/Gods-War-Takeovers-Government-Implosion/dp/047091…) is more deal issues- focused (with some weighting towards the legal side) than personality focused.
It only covers the last decade or so, but is a good read.
If you haven't had a few years in the industry, it may be a little dense, though.
Try also "Deals from Hell" - http://www.amazon.com/Deals-Hell-Lessons-Above-Ashes/dp/0470452595/ref=…
Finally, try the KKR biography "Merchant's of Debt" - http://www.amazon.com/Merchants-Debt-Mortgaging-American-Business/dp/15…
Ignore the shitty looking cover.
The KKR bio is the most accessible. I can't remember that much about "Deals from Hell" (it was 2 - 3 years ago that I read it). Gods at War is excellent but, as I said before, probably dense on the law in the few chapters that focus on deals that got bogged down in M&A legal issues.
Thank you SSits and Carlos Danger for the replies. Yes I don't have experience in M&A. I am transitioning from manufacturing to IB in a phased manner. Apart from technical skills I want to get feel of the industry.
Go with the KKR biography, Merchants of Debt. That will give you a good feel for the incentives that influence the various players in PE-based M&A (PE firms, advisers, lenders, targets).
Try also Deals from Hell, as that covers some non-PE strategic M&A ie acquisitions made for strategic business development rather than PE financial returns.
There's also "Big Deal" by Bruce Wasserstein. It's quite old now, but covers the deal activity of 80-90s pretty well.
+1 for Deals from Hell - Examines failed M&A transactions from the past 70+ years or so ranging from the failed Revco LBO to consolidation in the RR industry. Good diverse look at M&A in different industries.
deals from hell, the big deal, Dream big (inbev amheuser), dethroning the king (inbev amheuser).
'Barbarians at the Gate' is a good one about the LBO of RJR Nabisco
Great movie too!!
I'd actually say that following a deal in the market is the best way to learn about M&A. Books on the subject, IMO, are generally complete quackery. I was in your shoes before I knew anything about banking or Wall Street and I read the following 3 books: (1) Harvard Business School Round Table on Mergers and Acquisitions; (2) Deals of the Century; (3) Deals from Hell.
I would not advise reading any of them really.
You'll learn a lot more by following 1 or 2 deals that are going on right now. Allergen is probably a good one because there is probably so much stuff being written about it from the Wall Street Journal to Seeking Alpha to equity research to internet forums and blogs. You'll get a much more practical and meaningful understanding of the moving parts.
Try 'The Accidental Investment Banker' - probably an interesting read for you because it covers a lot of deals but also working in IB, how it's changed over time etc. Focuses on the media sector mostly.
Barbarians at the Gate has to be up there.
I have been reading King of Capital, about Blackstone. Been pretty pleased thus far.
I'll second Big Deal 2000 by Bruce Wasserstein. Note that reading some of it is what helped me realize that I was more of a markets than an IBD person.
Also M&A Titans: The Pioneers Who Shaped Wall Street's Mergers and Acquisitions Industry by Brett Cole. Not about deals per say but a good history of the guys who shaped the space.
lots of deals covered in BX 'King of Capital', read together with 'Barbarians at the Gate'.
Here's a neat link I bookmarked awhile ago: http://www.cnbc.com/id/34467713
Barbarians at the Gate is the best!
Measuring M&A Success (Originally Posted: 11/14/2017)
As recommended on this site a few weeks back, I started reading “Deals from Hell: M&A Lessons That Rise Above the Ashes” that covers 10 deals and what went wrong with them. In one of the early chapters, the author, Robert F. Bruner, goes over three measurements of capital market efficiency, and the best way to determine whether a deal was successful. The measurements are as follows:
Undoubtedly, this book is framed with a much more academic lens of M&A than many bankers may have. Although, that doesn’t mean this doesn’t have real-world applications. When meeting with clients, do any of these different measurements come up? If so, I would imagine it would be hard selling to a client that “Are your shareholders better off than a comparable investment?” is not the best way to measure the cost of lost opportunity. I would love some input from some senior monkeys on this front.
In addition, at what level of the IB food chain would this sort of thinking start to pay dividends? This largely is dependent on the type of shop, with the smaller the shop, the more junior position one would be interacting with the client and not solely an excel monkey.
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