MBA ELECTIVE OUTLINE: MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Presenters: Dave Thayser and Greg Beech
OVERVIEW
Max class size
50 students
Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) are as core to business life as marriage is to personal life –
most people’s lives will be touched by either or both experiences somewhere along the line.
M&A is an essential tool of corporate strategy, and is one method by which an enterprise can
meet its strategic objectives. Being familiar with best practices in M&A can contribute to the
likelihood of success from deal making.
M&A is a litmus test for business confidence – M&A activity tends to follow business cycles.
M&A activity declined significantly post the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, and has only recently
picked up. One early sign of recovery is that M&A deals start to get bigger and more eyecatching as companies start to focus on game-changing deals again. Several such deals
have appeared recently. For example, at the moment (September 2014) SABMiller is in an
eat-or-be-eaten phase. It has reportedly had an offer to buy competitor Heineken rejected by
the Heineken family, and as a result it has become vulnerable to a takeover bid from
Anheuser-Busch.
Despite the fact that M&A is a common occurrence, success at M&A remains elusive. A
regularly quoted statistic suggests that at least 50% of M&A deals either destroy shareholder
value or fail to create incremental value. One reason for this is that the M&A process contains
many pitfalls that can only be avoided through awareness and experience. In this elective we
take you through some of the common mistakes made in M&A, and outline actions that can
be taken to improve the chances of success.
The teaching style in this elective is participative and experiential. Some of the learning will
take place via class discussion, and some will take place via working with relevant case
studies. Where possible the presenters will make use of recent South African acquisitions that
offer significant learning. At the time of writing examples of such deals include the acquisition
of a significant stake in Adcock Ingram by a Bidvest-led consortium, and Woolworths’
acquisition of Australian retail chain David Jones.
The presenters are supported in this elective by some of the top M&A practitioners in South
Africa. Not only are they leading experts in their fields but they also have the ability to share
their experience and knowledge in an interesting and informative manner.
AIMS &
OBJECTIVES
FORMAT
By the end of the course, students should have:
 A sound understanding of valid strategic reasons for considering a merger or acquisition
transaction
 Insights into the factors that influence success and failure in M&A
 An overview of the various forms that M&A can take – outright acquisition or partnering
 An appreciation of the implications of globalisation, and in particular investment in
emerging markets
 An understanding of the M&A process, including the regulatory framework within which
deals are concluded
.
This course will be offered over four consecutive days
The course will be case-based and interactive. Students will be expected to prepare the case
studies prior to each session and will be encouraged to contribute to the discussion.
Experienced guest speakers will contribute to the course.
METHOD OF
Class participation
Individual assessment
ASSESSMENT
RESUME
Dave is a retired director of Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services (EY TAS),
Ernst & Young’s corporate finance arm, but continues to consult to E&Y on acquisitions they
are targeting in Africa. Dave’s Corporate Finance experience includes due diligence reviews,
financial performance assessment, valuations, transaction structuring and transaction
implementation.
While at EY Dave was responsible for the production of Ernst & Young’s widely-acclaimed
annual research publication on Merger & Acquisition Activity in South Africa. Dave has used
this knowledge base to lecture on Mergers & Acquisitions in various forums over a number of
years.
Greg, a qualified CA (SA), spent eight years in the investment banking industry working in
mergers & acquisitions advisory at Standard Bank and then Real Africa Durolink (‘RAD’). In
1997, he started the private equity division at RAD and led the fund-raising for a new third
party fund.
Greg left formal employment in early 2000 and began consulting to clients on mergers &
acquisitions and private equity. He co-founded Insight Advisors, a boutique advisory firm, in
2002. Notable transactions over the past 10 years include advising Mondi Europe on setting
up their internal venture capital fund and assisting a BEE group in acquiring a stake in
Stefanutti & Stocks.
Greg is an experienced lecturer and frequently presents seminars and workshops on an
outsourced basis for SAICA, Atcor and Paton Training. Topics covered include valuations,
mergers & acquisitions, financial analysis, due diligence, deal structuring, behavioural finance,
finance for non-financial managers and financial modeling.