Including marketing synergy in acquisition analysis: A step-wise approach

Merger and A Aquisition fever continues. Whereas the M & A boom of the 1980 s was driven largely by financial considerations, resulting in many leverag ed buyouts and hostile take-overs, more of today's mergers and acquisitions are friendly and are motivated by strategic profit goals. Reflecting this transition, marketing synergy has become a more relevant factor in determin ing the ultimate success of contemporary mergers and acquisitions. This art icle reviews an empirically rested step-wise approach for identifying, valu ing, and realizing opportunities for marketing synergy related to proposed or consummated acquisitions. The approach focuses upon analyzing marketing consolidations in strategically driven, complementary mergers and acquisiti ons. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.