Week 4 Discussion

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To Merge or Not to Merge…?

Mergers or acquisitions only make sense when the combined entities create greater value together than they can separately.

Locate and provide a link to a recent news story from The Wall Street Journal orother reputable news source about a merger or acquisition that has beenannounced between two publicly-traded companies in the last year.

• Inyour own words (not simply copied from the article), describe how thecombined entities were expected to create greater value together thanseparately (e.g., how they were going to increase revenue, lower costs,and/or better manage risks). Be descriptive and thorough in explainingthese potential synergies. To support your response, include specificreferences to M&A strategies discussed in Chapter 6 of The CFO Guidebook.
• Applyingyour business acumen and emerging CFO skill base, provide yourassessment and supporting rationale about whether this merger makessense from three perspectives:
  • Does the merger make sense from a strategic fit perspective?
  • Does the valuation of the deal seem reasonable?
  • Identify the biggest risk(s) you think the acquirer will confront in extracting the synergies post-transaction.