Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) are commonplace in the world of business, some very successful in terms of revenue, and some which are spectacular failures. An acquisition is a corporate action whereby a company buys most or all of the target company’s ownership stakes in order to gain control of it. There have been many famous mergers and acquisitions, resulting in increased revenue for some of the biggest firms in the world.
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- Disney/Pixar 2006 – This merger has proved to be very successful for both parties involved. The acquisition and merger means that the tradition of Disney could be maintained and the innovation of Pixar animations could be developed and explored further. The success of all the first six Pixar movies such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo confirmed Pixar’s new style of animation as being a hit with the box office, and the heritage and tradition of Disney speaks for itself. This partnership is still going strong today.
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- Exxon/Mobil 1999 – This $81 billion deal was historic in the business world. Exxon, the most powerful and prolific American oil company bought Mobil, the second largest American oil company. In order to ensure that the new ExxonMobil brand did not create a monopoly in certain areas of America, they had to sell thousands of their petrol stations. Today they are still the largest oil company in the world, showing this acquisition and merger to be a great success.
- Premier Lodge/Travel Inn 2004 – The Whitbread Company, who owned the Travel Inn hotel chain, decided to expand their budget hotel business by acquiring Premier Lodge in 2004. Once the two companies had merged, they created the UK’s largest budget hotel chain known then as Premier Travel Inn, which has since been rebranded Premier Inn and boasts over 600 hotels including some in Dubai and India.
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