AcquirersAnonymous:SevenStepsbacktoSobriety…

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Acquisitionsaregreatfortargetcompaniesbutnotalwaysforacquiringcompanystockholders…

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Andthelong-termfollowupisnotpositiveeither..

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¨ Managersoftenarguethatthemarketisunabletoseethelongtermbenefitsofmergersthattheycanseeatthetimeofthedeal.Iftheyareright,mergersshouldcreatelongtermbenefitstoacquiringfirms.

¨ Theevidencedoesnotsupportthishypothesis:¤ McKinseyandCo.hasexaminedacquisitionprogramsatcompanieson

n Didthereturnoncapitalinvestedinacquisitionsexceedthecostofcapital?n Didtheacquisitionshelptheparentcompaniesoutperformthecompetition?n Halfofallprogramsfailedonetest,andaquarterfailedboth.

¤ Synergyiselusive.KPMGinamorerecentstudyofglobalacquisitionsconcludesthatmostmergers(>80%)fail- themergedcompaniesdoworsethantheirpeergroup.

¤ Alargenumberofacquisitionsthatarereversedwithinfairlyshorttimeperiods.About20%oftheacquisitionsmadebetween1982and1986weredivestedby1988.Instudiesthathavetrackedacquisitionsforlongertimeperiods(tenyearsormore)thedivestiturerateofacquisitionsrisestoalmost50%.

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Ascarythought…Thediseaseisspreading…IndianfirmsacquiringUStargets– 1999- 2005

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Months around takeover

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Growingthroughacquisitionsseemstobea“loser’sgame”

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¨ Firmsthatgrowthroughacquisitionshavegenerallyhadfarmoretroublecreatingvaluethanfirmsthatgrowthroughinternalinvestments.

¨ Ingeneral,acquiringfirmstendto¤ Paytoomuchfortargetfirms¤ Overestimatethevalueof“synergy” and“control”¤ Haveadifficulttimedeliveringthepromisedbenefits

¨ Worsestill,thereseemstobeverylittlelearningbuiltintotheprocess.Thesamemistakesaremadeoverandoveragain,oftenbythesamefirmswiththesameadvisors.

¨ Conclusion:Thereissomethingstructurallywrongwiththeprocessforacquisitionswhichisfeedingintothemistakes.

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Thesevensinsinacquisitions…

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1. RiskTransference:Attributingacquiringcompanyriskcharacteristicstothetargetfirm.

2. Debtsubsidies:Subsidingtargetfirmstockholdersforthestrengthsoftheacquiringfirm.

3. Auto-pilotControl:The“20%controlpremium” andothermyth…

4. ElusiveSynergy:Misidentifyingandmis-valuingsynergy.5. Itsallrelative:Transactionmultiples,exitmultiples…6. Verdictfirst,trialafterwards:Pricefirst,valuationtofollow7. It’snotmyfault:Holdingnooneresponsiblefordelivering

results.

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Testingsheet

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Test Passed/Failed Rationalization

Risk transference

Debt subsidies

Control premium

The value of synergy

Comparables and Exit MultiplesBias

A successful acquisition strategy

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Letsstartwithatargetfirm

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¨ Thetargetfirmhasthefollowingincomestatement:Revenues 100OperatingExpenses 80= OperatingIncome 20Taxes 8=After-taxOI 12

¨ Assumethatthisfirmwillgeneratethisoperatingincomeforever(withnogrowth)andthatthecostofequityforthisfirmis20%.Thefirmhasnodebtoutstanding.Whatisthevalueofthisfirm?

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Test1:RiskTransference…

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¨ Assumethatasanacquiringfirm,youareinamuchsaferbusinessandhaveacostofequityof10%.Whatisthevalueofthetargetfirmtoyou?

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Lesson1:Don’ttransferyourriskcharacteristicstothetargetfirm

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¨ Thecostofequityusedforaninvestmentshouldreflecttheriskoftheinvestmentandnottheriskcharacteristicsoftheinvestorwhoraisedthefunds.

¨ Riskybusinessescannotbecomesafejustbecausethebuyerofthesebusinessesisinasafebusiness.

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Test2:Cheapdebt?

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¨ Assumeasanacquirerthatyouhaveaccesstocheapdebt(at4%)andthatyouplantofundhalftheacquisitionwithdebt.Howmuchwouldyoubewillingtopayforthetargetfirm?

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Lesson2:Renderuntothetargetfirmthatwhichisthetargetfirm’sbutnotapennymore..

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¨ Asanacquiringfirm,itisentirelypossiblethatyoucanborrowmuchmorethanthetargetfirmcanonitsownandatamuchlowerrate.Ifyoubuildthesecharacteristicsintothevaluationofthetargetfirm,youareessentiallytransferringwealthfromyourfirm’sstockholdertothetargetfirm’sstockholders.

¨ Whenvaluingatargetfirm,useacostofcapitalthatreflectsthedebtcapacityandthecostofdebtthatwouldapplytothefirm.

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Test3:ControlPremiums

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¨ Assumethatyouarenowtoldthatitisconventionaltopaya20%premiumforcontrolinacquisitions(backedupbyMergerstat).Howmuchwouldyoubewillingtopayforthetargetfirm?

¨ WouldyouranswerchangeifItoldyouthatyoucanrunthetargetfirmbetterandthatifyoudo,youwillbeabletogeneratea30%pre-taxoperatingmargin(ratherthanthe20%marginthatiscurrentlybeingearned).

¨ Whatifthetargetfirmwereperfectlyrun?

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Lesson3:Bewareofrulesofthumb…

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¨ Valuationisclutteredwithrulesofthumb.Afterpainstakinglyvaluingatargetfirm,usingyourbestestimates,youwillbeoftenbetoldthat¤ Itiscommonpracticetoaddarbitrarypremiumsforbrandname,qualityofmanagement,controletc…

¤ Thesepremiumswillbeoftenbebackedupbydata,studiesandservices.Whattheywillnotrevealistheenormoussamplingbiasinthestudiesandthestandarderrorsintheestimates.

¤ Ifyouhavedoneyourvaluationright,thosepremiumsshouldalreadybeincorporatedinyourestimatedvalue.Payingapremiumwillbedoublecounting.

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Test4:Synergy….

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¨ Assumethatyouaretoldthatthecombinedfirmwillbelessriskythanthetwoindividualfirmsandthatitshouldhavealowercostofcapital(andahighervalue).Isthislikely?

¨ Assumenowthatyouaretoldthattherearepotentialgrowthandcostsavingssynergiesintheacquisition.Wouldthatincreasethevalueofthetargetfirm?

¨ Shouldyoupaythisasapremium?

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TheValueofSynergy

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Synergy is created when two firms are combined and can be either financial or operating

Operating Synergy accrues to the combined firm as Financial Synergy

Higher returns on new investments

More newInvestments

Cost Savings in current operations

Tax BenefitsAdded Debt Capacity Diversification?

Higher ROC

Higher Growth Rate

Higher Reinvestment

Higher Growth RateHigher Margin

Higher Base-year EBIT

Strategic Advantages Economies of Scale

Longer GrowthPeriod

More sustainableexcess returns

Lower taxes on earnings due to - higher depreciaiton- operating loss carryforwards

Higher debt raito and lower cost of capital

May reducecost of equity for private or closely heldfirm

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ValuingSynergy

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(1)thefirmsinvolvedinthemergerarevaluedindependently,bydiscountingexpectedcashflowstoeachfirmattheweightedaveragecostofcapitalforthatfirm.(2)thevalueofthecombinedfirm,withnosynergy,isobtainedbyaddingthevaluesobtainedforeachfirminthefirststep.(3)Theeffectsofsynergyarebuiltintoexpectedgrowthratesandcashflows,andthecombinedfirmisre-valuedwithsynergy.

ValueofSynergy=Valueofthecombinedfirm,withsynergy-Valueofthecombinedfirm,withoutsynergy

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Synergy- Example1Highergrowthandcostsavings

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P&G Gillette Piglet: No Synergy Piglet: SynergyFree Cashflow to Equity $5,864.74 $1,547.50 $7,412.24 $7,569.73 Annual operating expenses reduced by $250 millionGrowth rate for first 5 years 12% 10% 11.58% 12.50% Slighly higher growth rateGrowth rate after five years 4% 4% 4.00% 4.00%Beta 0.90 0.80 0.88 0.88Cost of Equity 7.90% 7.50% 7.81% 7.81% Value of synergyValue of Equity $221,292 $59,878 $281,170 $298,355 $17,185

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Synergy:Example3TaxBenefits?

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¨ AssumethatyouareBestBuy,theelectronicsretailer,andthatyouwouldliketoenterthehardwarecomponentofthemarket.YouhavebeenapproachedbyinvestmentbankersforZenith,whichwhilestillarecognizedbrandname,isonitslastlegsfinancially.Thefirmhasnetoperatinglossesof$2billion.Ifyourtaxrateis36%,estimatethetaxbenefitsfromthisacquisition.

¨ IfBestBuyhadonly$500millionintaxableincome,howwouldyoucomputethetaxbenefits?

¨ IfthemarketvalueofZenithis$800million,wouldyoupaythistaxbenefitasapremiumonthemarketvalue?

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Lesson4:Don’tpayforbuzzwords

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¨ Throughtime,acquirershavealwaysfoundwaysofjustifyingpayingforpremiumsoverestimatedvaluebyusingbuzzwords- synergyinthe1980s,strategicconsiderationsinthe1990sandrealoptionsinthisdecade.

¨ Whileallofthesecanhavevalue,theonusshouldbeonthosepushingfortheacquisitionstoshowthattheydoandnotonthosepushingagainstthemtoshowthattheydonot.

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Test5:ComparablesandExitMultiples

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¨ Nowassumethatyouaretoldthatananalysisofotheracquisitionsrevealsthatacquirershavebeenwillingtopay5timesEBIT..GiventhatyourtargetfirmhasEBITof$20million,wouldyoubewillingtopay$100millionfortheacquisition?

¨ WhatifIestimatetheterminalvalueusinganexitmultipleof5timesEBIT?

¨ Asanadditionalinput,yourinvestmentbankertellsyouthattheacquisitionisaccretive.(YourPEratiois20whereasthePEratioofthetargetisonly10…Therefore,youwillgetajumpinearningspershareaftertheacquisition…)

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Biasedsamples=Poorresults

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¨ Biasedsamplesyieldbiasedresults.Basingwhatyoupayonwhatotheracquirershavepaidisarecipefordisaster.Afterall,weknowthatacquirer,onaverage,paytoomuchforacquisitions.Bymatchingtheirprices,weriskreplicatingtheirmistakes.

¨ Evenwhenweusethepricingmetricsofotherfirmsinthesector,wemaybebasingthepriceswepayonfirmsthatarenottrulycomparable.

¨ Whenweuseexitmultiples,weareassumingthatwhatthemarketispayingforcomparablecompaniestodayiswhatitwillcontinuetopayinthefuture.

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Lesson5:Don’tbealemming…

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¨ Alltoooften,acquisitionsarejustifiedbyusingoneofthefollowingtwoarguments:¤ Everyoneelseinyoursectorisdoingacquisitions.Youhavetodothesametosurvive.

¤ Thevalueofatargetfirmisbaseduponwhatothershavepaidonacquisitions,whichmaybemuchhigherthanwhatyourestimateofvalueforthefirmis.

¨ Withtherightsetofcomparablefirms,youcanjustifyalmostanyprice.

¨ EPSaccretionisameaninglessmeasure.Afterall,buyingancompanywithaPElowerthanyourswillleadmathematicallytoEPSaccretion.

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Test6:TheCEOreallywantstodothis…ortherearecompetitivepressures…

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¨ NowassumethatyouknowthattheCEOoftheacquiringfirmreally,reallywantstodothisacquisitionandthattheinvestmentbankersonbothsideshaveproducedfairnessopinionsthatindicatethatthefirmisworth$100million.Wouldyoubewillingtogoalong?

¨ Nowassumethatyouaretoldthatyourcompetitorsarealldoingacquisitionsandthatifyoudon’tdothem,youwillbeatadisadvantage?Wouldyoubewillingtogoalong?

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Lesson6:Don’tletegosorinvestmentbankersgetthebetterofcommonsense…

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¨ Ifyoudefineyourobjectiveinabiddingwaraswinningtheauctionatanycost,youwillwin.Butbewarethewinner’scurse!

¨ Thepremiumspaidonacquisitionsoftenhavenothingtodowithsynergy,controlorstrategicconsiderations(thoughtheymaybeprovidedasthereasons).TheymayjustreflecttheegosoftheCEOsoftheacquiringfirms.Thereisevidencethat“overconfident”CEOsaremorelikelytomakeacquisitionsandthattheyleaveatrailacrossthefirmsthattheyrun.

¨ Pre-emptiveordefensiveacquisitions,whereyouoverpay,eitherbecauseeveryoneelseisoverpayingorbecauseyouareafraidthatyouwillbeleftbehindifyoudon’tacquirearedangerous.Iftheonlywayyoucanstaycompetitiveinabusinessisbymakingbadinvestments,itmaybebesttothinkaboutgettingoutofthebusiness.

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Toillustrate:Abaddealismade,andjustifiedbyaccountants&bankers

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TheCEOstepsin…anddigsahole…

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¨ LeoApothekerwastheCEOofHPatthetimeofthedeal,broughtintoreplaceMarkHurd,thepreviousCEOwhowasforcedtoresignbecauseofa“sex”scandal.

¨ InthefaceofalmostuniversalfeelingthatHPhadpaidtoomuchforAutonomy,Mr. Apotheker addressing a conference at the time of the deal: “We have a pretty rigorous process inside H.P. that we follow for all our acquisitions, which is a D.C.F.-based model,”he said, in a reference to discounted cash flow, a standard valuation methodology. “And we try to take a very conservative view.”

¨ Apotheker added, “Just to make sure everybody understands, Autonomy will be, on Day 1, accretive to H.P….. “Just take it from us. We did that analysis at great length, in great detail, and we feel that we paid a very fair price for Autonomy. And it will give a great return to our shareholders.

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Ayearlater…HPadmitsamistake…andexplainsit…

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Test7:Isithopeless?

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¨ Theoddsseemtobeclearlyweightedagainstsuccessinacquisitions.Ifyouweretocreateastrategytogrow,baseduponacquisitions,whichofthefollowingoffersyourbestchanceofsuccess?

This OrthisSoleBidder BiddingWarPublictarget PrivatetargetPaywithcash PaywithstockSmalltarget LargetargetCostsynergies Growthsynergies

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Bettertoloseabiddingwarthantowinone…

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Returns in the 40 months before & after bidding warSource: Malmendier, Moretti & Peters (2011)

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Youarebetteroffbuyingsmallratherthanlargetargets…withcashratherthanstock

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Andfocusingonprivatefirmsandsubsidiaries,ratherthanpublicfirms…

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GrowthvsCostSynergies

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Synergy:Oddsofsuccess

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¨ Studiesthathavefocusedonsynergieshaveconcludedthatyouarefarmorelikelytodelivercostsynergiesthangrowthsynergies.

¨ Synergiesthatareconcreteandplannedforatthetimeofthemergeraremorelikelytobedeliveredthanfuzzysynergies.

¨ Synergyismuchmorelikelytoshowupwhensomeoneisheldresponsiblefordeliveringthesynergy.

¨ Youaremorelikelytogetashareofthesynergygainsinanacquisitionwhenyouareasinglebidderthanifyouareoneofmultiplebidders.

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Lesson7:Foracquisitionstocreatevalue,youhavetostaydisciplined..

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1. Ifyouhaveasuccessfulacquisitionstrategy,stayfocusedonthatstrategy.Don’tletsizeorhubrisdriveyouto“expand” thestrategy.

2. Realisticplansfordeliveringsynergyandcontrolhavetobeputinplacebeforethemergeriscompleted.Byrealistic,wehavetomeanthatthemagnitudeofthebenefitshavetobereachableandnotpipedreamsandthatthetimeframeshouldreflecttherealitythatittakesawhilefortwoorganizationstoworkasone.

3. Thebestthingtodoinabiddingwaristodropout.4. Someone(preferablythepersonpushinghardestforthemerger)

shouldbeheldtoaccountfordeliveringthebenefits.5. Thecompensationforinvestmentbankersandothersinvolvedin

thedealshouldbetiedtohowwellthedealworksratherthanforgettingthedealdone.