With acquisition activity running into the trillions of dollars, it continues to be a favorite for corporate growth strategy, but creating shareholder value remains the most elusive outcome of these corporate strategies—after decades of research and billions of dollars paid in advisory fees, why do these major decisions continue to destroy value?Building on his groundbreaking research first cited in Business Week, Mark L. Sirower explains how companies oft...

"Every CEO and Corporate Director who has been in the path of the 'WOW! GRAB IT!' acquisition locomotive should read this book!"-- Charles R. Shoemate,Chairman and CEO, BestfoodsWith global acquisition activity running into the trillions of dollars, the acquisition alternative continues to be the favorite corporate growth strategy of this generation's executives. Unfortunately, creating shareholder value remains the most elusive outcome of these corporate strategies...

A detailed look at the worst M&A deals ever and the lessons learned from themIt's common knowledge that about half of all merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions destroy value for the buyer's shareholders, and about three-quarters fall short of the expectations prevailing at the time the deal is announced. In Deals from Hell, Robert Bruner, one of the foremost thinkers and educators in this field, uncovers the real reasons for these mishaps by taking a closer look at twelve speci...

Since its first publication, Michael J. Mauboussin's popular guide to wise investing has been translated into eight languages and has been named best business book by BusinessWeek and best economics book by Strategy+Business. Now updated to reflect current research and expanded to include new chapters on investment philosophy, psychology, and strategy and science as they pertain to money management, this volume is more than ever the best chance to know more than the avera...

Why corporate stars often lose their luster after changing jobsIt is taken for granted in the knowledge economy that companies must employ the most talented performers to compete and succeed. Many firms try to buy stars by luring them away from competitors. But Boris Groysberg shows what an uncertain and disastrous practice this can be.After examining the careers of more than a thousand star analysts at Wall Street investment banks, and conducting more than...

In a world of increasing financial uncertainty and growing unemployment, the macroeconomic contribution of SMEs is more important than ever. Development of a vibrant, sustainable small firm sector is dependent on sufficient resourcing of SMEs, particularly adequate capitalisation. This book provides a timely examination of SME financing and determinants of capital structure. A special feature of this book is the novel methodological approach adopted, providing an innovative perspective on ...

This book will examine the profession of investor relations from the practical standpoint. The book will define what investor relations is, what investor relations professionals do, what skills and competencies are required to become a successful investor relations practitioner and, finally, how to outsource investor relations services. Investor relations is a profession on the borderline between communication, finance and law. This book will address each of these three competencies as ess...

Kenneth A. Posner spent close to two decades as a Wall Street analyst, tracking the so-called "specialty finance" sector, which included controversial companies such as Countrywide, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, CIT, and MasterCard-many of which were caught in the subprime mortgage and capital markets crisis of 2007. While extreme volatility is nothing new in finance, the recent downturn caught many off guard, indicating that the traditional approach to decision making had let them down. Introd...

At a time when corporate scandals and major financial failures dominate newspaper headlines, the importance of good risk management practices has never been more obvious. The absence or mismanagement of such practices can have devastating effects on exposed organizations and the wider economy (Barings Bank, Enron, Lehmann Brothers, Northern Rock, to name but a few). Today's organizations and corporate leaders must learn the lessons of such failures by developing practices to deal effective...

A real-world look at the pension revolution underwayThe Future of Pension Management offers a progress report from the field, using actual case studies from around the world. In the mid-70s, Peter Drucker predicted that demographic dynamics would eventually turn pensions into a major societal issue; in 2007, author Keith Ambachsheer's book Pension Revolution laid out the ways in which Drucker's predictions had come to pass. This book provides a fr...

An essential guide to valuation techniques and financial analysisWith the collapse of the economy and financial systems, many institutions are reevaluating what they are willing to spend money on. Project valuation is key to both cost effectiveness measures and shareholder value.The purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive examination of critical capital budgeting topics. Coverage extends from discussing basic concepts, principles, and techniques ...

An in-depth look into the various aspects of behavioral financeBehavioral finance applies systematic analysis to ideas that have long floated around the world of trading and investing. Yet it is important to realize that we are still at a very early stage of research into this discipline and have much to learn. That is why Edwin Burton has written Behavioral Finance: Understanding the Social, Cognitive, and Economic Debates.Engaging and informative...