An acquisition is defined as a corporate transaction where one company purchases a portion or all of another company’s shares or assets. Acquisitions are typically made in order to take control and build on the target company’s weaknesses or strengths and capture synergies. There are several types of business combinations: acquisitions (both companies survive), mergers (one company survives), and amalgamations (neither company survives).
The acquiring company will buy the shares of the assets of the target company, which gives the acquiring company the powers to make decisions concerning the acquired assets without needing the approval of shareholders from the target company.
Benefits of Acquisitions
1. Reduced entry barriers
With M&A, a company is able to enter into new markets and product lines instantaneously with a brand that is already recognized, with a good reputation and an existing client base. An acquisition can help to overcome market entry barriers that were previously challenging and also reduce the risks of adverse reactions by competitors. Market entry can be a costly scheme for small businesses due to expenses in market research, development of a new product, and the time needed to build a substantial client base.
2. Market power
An acquisition will help to increase the market share of your company quickly and reduce the competition’s stronghold. Even though competition can be challenging, growth through acquisition can be helpful in reducing the capacity of competitors and making things even. The process helps achieves market synergies.
3. New competencies and resources
A company can choose to take over other businesses to gain competencies and resources it does not hold currently. They can provide many benefits, such as rapid growth in revenues or an improvement in the long-term financial position of the company, which makes it raising capital for growth strategies easier. Expansion and diversity can also help a company to withstand an economic slump.
4. Access to experts
When small businesses join with larger businesses, they are able to access specialists such as financial, legal or human resource specialists.
5. Access to capital
After an acquisition, access to capital as a larger company is improved. Small business owners are usually forced to invest their own money in business growth due to the inability to access funds. However, with an acquisition, there is an availability of a greater level of capital, enabling business owners to acquire funds needed without the need to dip into their own pockets.
6. Fresh ideas and perspective
M&A helps put together a new team of experts with fresh perspectives and ideas and who are passionate about helping the business reach its goals.
Challenges with Acquisitions
M&A can be a good way to grow your business by increasing your revenues when you acquire a complimentary company that is able to contribute to your income. Nevertheless, M&A deals can also create some hitches and disadvantage your business. You must put these pitfalls into consideration before pursuing an acquisition.
1. Culture clashes
A company usually has its own distinct culture that has been developing since its inception. Acquiring a company that has a culture that conflicts with yours can be problematic. Employees and managers from both companies, as well as their activities, may not integrate as well as anticipated. Employees may also dislike the move, which may breed antagonism and anxiety.
2. Duplication
Acquisitions may lead to employees duplicating each other’s duties. When two similar businesses combine, there may be cases where two departments or people do the same activity. This can cause excessive costs on wages. These transactions will therefore often lead to reorganization and job cuts to maximize efficiencies in human resources and other processes. This can reduce employee morale and lead to low productivity.
3. Conflicting objectives
The two companies involved in the acquisition may have distinct objectives since they have been operating individually until the transaciton. For instance, the original company may want to expand into new markets, but the acquired company may be looking to cut costs. This can bring resistance within the acquisition that can undermine efforts being made.
4. Poorly matched businesses
A business that doesn’t look for expert advice when trying to identify the most suitable company to acquire may end up targeting a company that brings more challenges to the equation than benefits. This can deny an otherwise productive company the chance to grow.
5. Pressure on suppliers
Following an acquisition, the capacity of the suppliers of the company may not be enough to provide the additional services, supplies, or materials that will be needed. This may cripple the operations of the acquisition.
6. Brand damage
M&A may hurt the image of the new company or damage the existing brand. An evaluation on whether the two different brands should be kept separate must be done before the deal is made.
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