When I read all the news stories and worse yet, all the blogging pundits, on how bad the proposed acquisition of Yahoo by Microsoft is, I wonder what is really driving all the negative sentiment.
Businesses in all industries for many years have used acquisitions as a form of growth and global competitiveness. Some companies do it well. Some companies do not. But one truth remains relatively constant, shareholders vote with their dollars (buying and selling) based on what they believe the prospects of the deal will bring. Those votes are rather immediate, based on the information that is shared and opinions about the value creating aspects of the deal. And that evaluation continues on well after the close of any deal.
I see so much negative "stuff" written about what it means to consumers of these companies products and services, customer contractual rights, employees, and the potential acquisition pool for others (start-ups looking for these big firms to acquire them are upset that another potential suitor is gone, rather than focusing on building a sustainable business). But I see very little about how this may actually help these constituents and the acquiring firm (does anyone really think that a deal of the size of the one noted above wasn't considerably discussed and debated, and the benefits, not without risk I grant you, could be significant??)
I would like to read more stories and posts from those who qualify as experts on how any potential deal is going to help the company that is doing the buying. Shareholders of the acquired firm typically do very well based on recent stock performance...shareholders of the buying firms are the ones that raise the questions and need the answers to all of the synergistic value creation opportunities that any proposed deal might have. It helps those shareholders "vote" by buying, selling or holding their shares.
That's not to say things won't go awry in the post-merger integration activities of any deal, but markets are very quick and efficient in reacting to this insight and real information, prior to, during and after any deal. All the rest makes for great blogs and headlines, but does little or nothing to help shareholders evaluate a deal, and consumers evaluate the benefits that may accrue, or the pain that may follow.
I don't have the answers. Rather the purpose of my post was to hopefully inspire those who might, to focus on providing useful information and not simply jumping on the anti-acquisition bandwagon because its the fashionable thing to do.