«In some countries, it's easier to play games, or their liabilities are less transparent.»

«You can ask some questions that might uncover it, but if you can't get to it, you can't get to it.»

«HR should have a seat at the table only if they are able to talk dollars and cents.»

«If [the target's] average pay is half of the buyer's average pay, guess what?their payroll is going up 50%. All those things need to be allowed for within the projection model in which you value the business, which is all a function of the CFO.»

«A paradox exists in the world of mergers and acquisitions. Other studies that have looked at M&A deals in the past 20 years have found that deals in earlier M&A cycles destroyed, rather than created, shareholder value. Yet to grow to be an organization operating on a global scale, it is almost impossible to do so quickly enough through organic growth alone. Mergers and acquisitions have in many ways become necessary. Interestingly, evidence is now mounting that the deals conducted in the current merger wave may be different. Across a broad range of industries throughout the world, lessons learned are being applied.»

«We believe this success is a direct consequence of companies' improved management of the M&A process, from target selection and pricing, to due diligence to implementation. In the future, this learning curve will certainly continue. So, while gaining competitive advantage through M&As is now a legitimate business strategy for growth, long-term success will depend on increasingly sophisticated M&A capability.»