The Human Side of M&A

This book covers the human dimension of mergers and acquisitions, which it says are the cause of many failed M&A deals. Even though all the messages are not revolutionary and the style is sometimes very American, at least three chapters deserve particular attention in our opinion. Chapter 1 is an excellent summary of the human issues that arise in this type of transaction, chapter 4 proposes many suggestions on how to prevent attrition by key people at the acquired company, and chapter 6 is devoted to the delays generated by legal constraints around mergers and the way to manage their impact on the various players involved.