International Mergers and Acquisitions

With the recent boom in merger and acquisition activity and the increasing globalization of business, more and more M&A transactions are taking place across borders. According to Securities Data Company, in 1998 more than $672 billion in cross-border deals were announced - one in every four dollars of worldwide M&A, up dramatically from $393 billion in 1997 and $274 billion in 1996.

This book aims to highlight the ways in which international mergers and acquisitions are very different from their domestic equivalent, to identify the common pitfalls, and to provide a practical guide to negotiating successful international M&A. The key issues addressed include reconciling the tax and accounting systems and divergent merger legislation of different jurisdictions, resolving differences in corporate culture and governance, dealing with cross-border communications issues, and confronting some of the basic logistical difficulties of an international transaction.

In bringing together the contributions of expert investment bankers, corporate executives, lawyers, consultants, accountants and regulators with extensive experience in international M&A, the book provides a valuable introduction to the challenges of cross-border deals.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors; Foreword; 1. The Investment Bankers'' Overview of Recent and Future Developments in International Mergers and Acquisitions, Kenneth H.M. Leet, Gary W. Parr and Jonathan K. Rouner; 2. Regulation of Cross-Border Investments, John B. Reynolds, III; 3. Regulation of the Cross-Border Acquisition Process Itself, Meredith M. Brown, Adrian Clark, Laurie L. Green and Harald Voss; 4. Tax Issues in Structuring a Cross-Border Acquisition, Peter C. Canellos, Paul W. Oosterhuis and Burt Rosen; 5. Accounting Issues in International Mergers and Acquisitions, Jeffrey N. Jones and Michael J. Morrissey; 6. Communications Issues, Joele Frank and Paul Verbinnen; 7. Cultural and Social Issues Before the Closing, Walter Shill and Richard D. Houtman; 8. Getting It to Work: Post-Closing Integration Issues, Walter Shill and Richard D. Houtman; 9. Coda: What to Do, and What Not to Do, in Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions, Walter Shill and Richard D. Houtman; Index.