New Book 'Merge Ahead' Argues Mergers Are Critical To Growth In The Current Environment

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 12, 2009

Companies seeking growth in the current environment need to add a new term to their lexicons: "merganic."

Merge Ahead: Mastering the Five Enduring Trends of Artful M&A (http://www.businessfuture.com/fbs/mergeahead), published by McGraw Hill and available today, argues that only those companies that develop growth strategies with integrated mergers and organic plans can survive the difficult years to come. Thus, corporate leaders can expect a "merge ahead" in their futures.

Written by Gerald Adolph (http://www.booz.com/global/home/who_we_are/leadership/40832353/gerald_adolph ), a Senior Partner at Booz & Company and head of its mergers and restructuring group, and Justin Pettit (http://www.booz.com/global/home/who_we_are/leadership/40832353/justin_pettit), Partner and corporate finance practice leader, Merge Ahead is an up-to-date guide to the forces driving the current deal environment as well as the most effective strategic and tactical responses for managing them. The book is based on actual experience on the front lines of M&A and merger integration.

"While the argument for merganic growth is compelling, achieving it is inherently difficult. Making it work requires a variety of skills and capabilities, ranging from the deep market insight and foresight needed to get beyond the obvious, to financial acumen, to the ability to manage postmerger integration and human capital issues on a global scale. For most companies, the most difficult impediment will not be the outside world, but their own internal limits: the need to build the skills and capabilities necessary for merganic growth, and to adopt the strategies and tactics required to execute it," Adolph and Pettit write.

Within the context of the outside world, Merge Ahead offers important advice on managing the five major trends shaping the current M&A landscape. They are:

• Bigger is Better than Ever (the need for relevant size in order to be competitive),
• Velocity and Impatience (the fast-moving business environment has created impatient stakeholders),
• The New Blues (companies from emerging nations competing with the world's best),
• Deep Pockets (competition from financial buyers such as private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds), and
• Bubbles and Waves (sizable market fluctuations and structural changes within industries).

In terms of tactical guidance, the book provides important detail on the nuts and bolts of crafting a successful merganic growth plan and transaction, helping companies build the right capabilities to create sustainable competitive advantage in the current environment.

"Many companies approach the overall deal process as if it were a linear process. They manage the four stages as if they were handing off the baton in a relay race: from the boardroom to the negotiating team to the integration planning program leaders to line management. In a traditional world, a linear approach creates numerous obstacles to successful deals; in the new world, such an approach cannot adequately respond to the five trends and their implications," Adolph and Pettit write.

About Booz & Company
Booz & Company is a leading global management consulting firm, helping the world's top businesses, governments, and organizations.

Our founder, Edwin Booz, defined the profession when he established the first management consulting firm in 1914.

Today, with more than 3,300 people in 59 offices around the world, we bring foresight and knowledge, deep functional expertise, and a practical approach to building capabilities and delivering real impact. We work closely with our clients to create and deliver essential advantage.

For our management magazine strategy+business, visit http://www.strategy-business.com.

Visit http://www.booz.com to learn more about Booz & Company.

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