STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: MANAGING MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

ABSTRACTIn this paper we have discussed what mergers and acquisitions are and how they are a part of anyorganizations strategic planning policy. Organizations ‘merge’ generally with similar organizations or‘acquire’ weaker organizations, and the essence as to why they do so is that the value of two is greater thanone. They basically merge with or acquire each other’s strengths and try to overcome one another’sweaknesses thus leading to increased market shares and profitability. We have discussed the variousrationales for mergers and acquisitions like the strategic rationale, speculative rationale, managementfailure rationale etc, along with their types that include vertical integration, horizontal integration andconglomeration. We have also put light on how companies go strategically about mergers and acquisitions.The merger and acquisition life cycle aided by real examples (case studies) will offer a vivid understandingof these concepts to the reader.KEY WORDSManagement, Strategies, Rationales, Mergers & Acquisitions