Mergers and Productivity (National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report)

Mergers and Productivity offers probing analyses of high-profile mergers in a variety of industries. Focusing on specific acquisitions, it illustrates the remarkable range of contingencies involved in any merger attempt. The authors clearly establish each merger's presumed objectives and the potential costs and benefits of the acquisition, and place it within the context of the broader industry. Striking conclusions that emerge from these case studies are that merger and acquisition activities were associated with technological or regulatory shocks, and that a merger's success or failure was dependent upon the acquirer's thorough understanding of the target, its corporate culture, and its workforce and wage structures prior to acquisition. Sifting through a wealth of carefully gathered evidence, these papers capture the richness, the complexity, and the economic intangibles inherent in contemporary merger activity in a way that large-scale studies of mergers cannot. Consolidation In The Medical Care Marketplace: A Case Study From Massachusetts / Jason R. Barro And David M. Cutler -- The Eclipse Of The U.s. Tire Industry / Raghuram Rajan, Paolo Volpin And Luigi Zingales -- Is The Bank Merger Wave Of The 1990s Efficient? Lessons From Nine Case Studies / Charles W. Calomiris And Jason Karceski -- A Clinical Exploration Of Value Creation And Destruction In Acquisitions: Organizational Design, Incentives, And Internal Capital Markets / Steven N. Kaplan, Mark L. Mitchell And Karen H. Wruck -- Workforce Integration And The Dissipation Of Value In Mergers: The Case Of Usair's Acquisition Of Piedmont Aviation / Stacey R. Kole And Kenneth Lehn -- Paths To Creating Value In Pharmaceutical Mergers / David J. Ravenscraft And William F. Long. Edited By Steven N. Kaplan. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. Does the merger frenzy that has overtaken the corporate world during the 1990s really lead to increased performance, productivity, and efficiency? To find out, the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Sloan Foundation funded a series of in-depth case studies on the objectives and results of specific mergers in various industries. The six reports here indicate that mergers are driven by technological or regulatory shocks, and that success depends on how well the acquirer understands the target, its corporate culture, and its workforce and wage structure prior to the acquisition. This volume offers probing analyses of high-profile mergers in a variety of industries. Focusing on specific acquisitions, it illustrates the remarkable range of contingencies involved in any merger attempt 1......Page 1 2......Page 13 3......Page 21 4......Page 63 5......Page 105 6......Page 191 7......Page 251 8......Page 299 9......Page 339 10......Page 341 12......Page 345