Managing Complex Mergers

This book is a compilation of articles written by professors at the Lausanne International Institute for Management Development (IMD). Rather than taking a general approach to the art of successful mergers, this book sheds light successively on several striking aspects of these deals, and gives many practical recommendations. Another strong point is that unlike many other books on the subject, this one contains European as well as American examples.
The topics covered range from a general history of mergers & acquisitions to explanations on the reasons why many of these deals fail, along with analyses of specific aspects such as human resources and information systems, as well as case studies of successful mergers like Astra / Zeneca. The direct and easily accessible style make this a very useful collection of ideas.