Value creation and problems of modern mergers and acquisitions (using empirical illustration of Schlumberger company)

Abstract: Integration through strategy of mergers and acquisitions have become popular all over the world thanks to globalization, technological developments, liberalization, and saturated competitive business environment. On The Journal published on www.globusz.com, it has been announced that the number of M&A corporations has reached 5000 mergers, and the total value of the companies acquired is of about $1.7 trillion in 2000. In USA, it was the period where the most important and largest M&As were ever announced, it was the year where AOL and Time Warner were merged. Most of researches conducted on M&A activities have recognized that firms prefer to enlarge their activity by merging or acquiring new businesses rather than enlarging organically. However, in some cases, results collected are not the ones expected. IBM has made about 800 strategic alliances, Hewlet Packard about 300, and AT with T about 400. This proves that those alliances either with strategic suppliers, or with competitor or partners, they are an effective and a prompt access towards capital increase, talents discovery, effective distribution channels and manufacturing productive designs or operations. According to a study conducted by Coopers and Lybrand, companies that form strategic alliances grow 20% faster and gain 11% more in sales than those who choose to rely solely on their own expertise (Segil 1998). The study also identified that two thirds of middle level firms have entered some form of alliance: 37% with their customers; 35% with their suppliers; 15% with competitors. The gaining from M&As is said to be a means of protecting the market share and of expanding growth domestically and internationally, because it leads to more beneficial using of resources and assets, to more efficient managеmеnt, and to еcоnomies of scale, etc.  Thus, the question to raise is: do results of M&As create real value for the shareholders of acquirers?