Please, read the article Are you paying too much for that acquisition by Robert G. Eccles, Kersten L. Lanes and Thomas C. Wilson. The article was published in Harvard Business Review in July-August 1999 issue. Despite the fact that the examples used in the articles are from 20 years ago, the basic ideas and recommendations on how to approach the valuation and pricing of an acquisition are still very valid. In your one-page summary, please discuss the following:
1. Explain how the authors differentiate among various values that can be assigned to a target company: intrinsic, market, purchase price and synergy value.
2. What are the main sources of the synergy value in M&A? How do you account for the different sources of synergies in your analysis?
3. What should managers keep in mind when pricing and negotiating a purchase price for a target company.
Thank you!
