Hard and soft go hand-in-hand

摘要

The mighty rush of mergers and acquisitions thunders on, and the buys get mightier yet. Billions ride on the success of deals such as Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, Ciba and Sandoz, or Varity and Lucas. Yet there's no evidence that managements are any better at making corporate wedlock work. The rough statistic, that half of all deals flop, has become gospel. It's a gross underestimate: according to one highly believable study, a further third make marginal returns, and only 17% truly pay.