Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to buy a German maker of motorcycle apparel and accessories, Detlev Louis Motorrad-Vertriebs, for approximately 400 million euros ($456 million). Despite the current market conditions, Warren Buffett, once again demonstrates that opportunities can be found in any market. He sees Europe as an opportunity for growth, calling the purchase a “door opener” …
Tag: mergers
Zillow Keeps Trulia Brand In Acquisition
There are many different ways to handle brand integration – whether it means discarding the target’s brand in favor of your own, keeping both brands, or creating a new one. Each strategy is valid, depending on your brand equity and strategic rationale for acquisition. Let’s look at a live example: In its $2.5 billion stock-for-stock …
How Can You Manage Mergers and Acquisitions Risk?
Acquisitions are one of the fastest ways to grow, but they do come with their own set of risks. Industry numbers show that about 70% of acquisitions fail, so executives are highly motivated to mitigate their risks when purchasing a company. This can be done in a number of ways. Usually we think about hiring …
Why Price Is the Last Thing to Talk about When Buying a Company
Time your negotiations by understanding owner psychology. Everyone wants to talk about price in mergers and acquisitions. It’s often the number one focus of buyers and sellers…but for opposite reasons. Both are likely to say they are looking for a “good deal,” but this can have a completely different meaning depending on the perspective. Buyers …
Using Strategic Mergers and Acquisitions to Adapt – Credit Union Times Op-ed
John Dearing, Capstone Managing Director, was asked to write an op-ed for the Credit Union Times about the ways that credit unions can find additional sources of non-interest income. I’ve included part of John’s article below: Every industry faces change and the credit union industry is no different. Market developments and new regulations are challenging credit unions …
Strategy, Not Equity, Should Drive Integration
When it comes to integration, people often think equity ownership should determine their approach. If they own 100% of the business, they should change all the target’s practices to their own. In a strategic alliance where neither side can force the other side to do anything, they might not integrate any of the practices. But …
Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Finally Reach Deal to Merge
Family Dollar and Dollar Tree finally have reached a deal to merge for $8.5 billion. This merger comes after months of negotiations between Family Dollar, Dollar Tree and Dollar General. Family Dollar and Dollar Tree originally came to an agreement last July, but Dollar General quickly stepped in with a higher offer. Interestingly, although Dollar …
Strategic Acquirers at an Advantage in Today’s Market
If you’re strategic acquirer, 2015 will be a good year for you. In 2014 we started to see companies, especially strategic acquirers be more aggressive about M&A. This likely will continue and even accelerate in 2015, especially since many still have a record amount of cash on their balance sheets. While we’ve had a pretty …
2014 Record Breaking Year for M&A
Last year was a record-breaking one for M&A. Global deal-making reached a 7-year high with 40,298 transactions amounting to $3.5 trillion. With cheap debt financing readily available and stock prices rising, more companies pursued M&A in 2014. The improving U.S. economy greatly contributed to robust activity; at $1.53 trillion, the U.S. accounted for 44% of …
5 Tips for Meeting with Owners about Acquisitions
“I felt so vulnerable. I didn’t know what to do or what to talk about,” Dan told me. As the CEO of a food manufacturer who was pursuing acquisitions, he had a first meeting with an owner of a packaging facility before he engaged Capstone. When we met he expressed feelings of uncertainty and how …
