In my last post, I looked at HP's disastrous acquisition of Autonomy for $11 billion in 2011 and its subsequent write off of $8.8 billion. While it stands out as a particularly egregious example of a bad deal, it is unfortunately not the exception. In fact, the evidence suggests that a growth strategy built around acquisitions, especially of other publicly traded firms, is more likely to fail than succeed. To back this statement, you can look at three pieces of evidence:
Acquisition Archives: Winners and Losers
Acquisition Archives: Winners and Losers
Acquisition Archives: Winners and Losers
In my last post, I looked at HP's disastrous acquisition of Autonomy for $11 billion in 2011 and its subsequent write off of $8.8 billion. While it stands out as a particularly egregious example of a bad deal, it is unfortunately not the exception. In fact, the evidence suggests that a growth strategy built around acquisitions, especially of other publicly traded firms, is more likely to fail than succeed. To back this statement, you can look at three pieces of evidence: