bupesh
(n/a)
26 September 2007
Advantages of Mergers & Acquisitions
The most common motives and advantages of mergers and acquisitions are:-
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[*]Accelerating a company's growth, particularly when its internal growth is constrained due to paucity of resources. Internal growth requires that a company should develop its operating facilities- manufacturing, research, marketing, etc. But, lack or inadequacy of resources and time needed for internal development may constrain a company's pace of growth. Hence, a company can acquire production facilities as well as other resources from outside through mergers and acquisitions. Specially, for entering in new products/markets, the company may lack technical skills and may require special marketing skills and a wide distribution network to access different segments of markets. The company can acquire existing company or companies with requisite infrastructure and skills and grow quickly. [/*]
[*]Enhancing profitability because a combination of two or more companies may result in more than average profitability due to cost reduction and efficient utilization of resources. This may happen because of:-
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[*]Economies of scale:- arise when increase in the volume of production leads to a reduction in the cost of production per unit. This is because, with merger, fixed costs are distributed over a large volume of production causing the unit cost of production to decline. Economies of scale may also arise from other indivisibilities such as production facilities, management functions and management resources and systems. This is because a given function, facility or resource is utilized for a large scale of operations by the combined firm. [/*]
[*]Operating economies:- arise because, a combination of two or more firms may result in cost reduction due to operating economies. In other words, a combined firm may avoid or reduce over-lapping functions and consolidate its management functions such as manufacturing, marketing, R&D and thus reduce operating costs. For example, a combined firm may eliminate duplicate channels of distribution, or crate a centralized training center, or introduce an integrated planning and control system. [/*]
[*]Synergy:- implies a situation where the combined firm is more valuable than the sum of the individual combining firms. It refers to benefits other than those related to economies of scale. Operating economies are one form of synergy benefits. But apart from operating economies, synergy may also arise from enhanced managerial capabilities, creativity, innovativeness, R&D and market coverage capacity due to the complementarity of resources and skills and a widened horizon of opportunities. [/list][/list][/*]
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[*]Diversifying the risks of the company, particularly when it acquires those businesses whose income streams are not correlated. Diversification implies growth through the combination of firms in unrelated businesses. It results in reduction of total risks through substantial reduction of cyclicality of operations. The combination of management and other systems strengthen the capacity of the combined firm to withstand the severity of the unforeseen economic factors which could otherwise endanger the survival of the individual companies. [/*]
[*]A merger may result in financial synergy and benefits for the firm in many ways:-
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[*]By eliminating financial constraints [/*]
[*]By enhancing debt capacity. This is because a merger of two companies can bring stability of cash flows which in turn reduces the risk of insolvency and enhances the capacity of the new entity to service a larger amount of debt [/*]
[*]By lowering the financial costs. This is because due to financial stability, the merged firm is able to borrow at a lower rate of interest.[/list][/*]
[*]Limiting the severity of competition by increasing the company's market power. A merger can increase the market share of the merged firm. This improves the profitability of the firm due to economies of scale. The bargaining power of the firm vis-à-vis labour, suppliers and buyers is also enhanced. The merged firm can exploit technological breakthroughs against obsolescence and price wars. [/list][/*]
courtesy:india.gov.in