Acquisitions and Takeovers
An acquisition may be defined as an act of acquiring
effective control by one company over assets or management of another company
without any combination of companies. Thus, in an acquisition two or more
companies may remain independent, separate legal entities, but there may be a
change in control of the companies. When an acquisition is ‘forced’ or
‘unwilling’, it is called a takeover. In an unwilling acquisition, the
management of ‘target’ company would oppose a move of being taken over. But,
when managements of acquiring and target companies mutually and willingly agree
for the takeover, it is called acquisition or friendly takeover.
Under the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Act, takeover
meant acquisition of not less than 25 percent of the voting power in a company.
While in the Companies Act (Section 372), a company’s investment in the shares
of another company in excess of 10 percent of the subscribed capital can result
in takeovers. An acquisition or takeover does not necessarily entail full legal
control. A company can also have effective control over another company by
holding a minority ownership.
Advantages of Mergers & Acquisitions
The most common motives and advantages of mergers and
acquisitions are:-
Accelerating a company’s growth, particularly when its
internal growth is constrained due to paucity of resources. Internal growth
requires that a company should develop its operating facilities- manufacturing,
research, marketing, etc. But, lack or inadequacy of resources and time needed
for internal development may constrain a company’s pace of growth. Hence, a
company can acquire production facilities as well as other resources from
outside through mergers and acquisitions. Specially, for entering in new
products/markets, the company may lack technical skills and may require special
marketing skills and a wide distribution network to access different segments of
markets. The company can acquire existing company or companies with requisite
infrastructure and skills and grow quickly.
Enhancing profitability because a combination of two or more
companies may result in more than average profitability due to cost reduction
and efficient utilization of resources. This may happen because of:
Economies of scale:- arise when increase in the volume of
production leads to a reduction in the cost of production per unit. This is
because, with merger, fixed costs are distributed over a large volume of
production causing the unit cost of production to decline. Economies of scale
may also arise from other indivisibilities such as production facilities,
management functions and management resources and systems. This is because a
given function, facility or resource is utilized for a large scale of
operations by the combined firm.
Operating economies:- arise because, a combination of two or
more firms may result in cost reduction due to operating economies. In other
words, a combined firm may avoid or reduce over-lapping functions and
consolidate its management functions such as manufacturing, marketing, R&D
and thus reduce operating costs. For example, a combined firm may eliminate
duplicate channels of distribution, or crate a centralized training center, or
introduce an integrated planning and control system.
Synergy:- implies a situation where the combined firm is
more valuable than the sum of the individual combining firms. It refers to
benefits other than those related to economies of scale. Operating economies
are one form of synergy benefits. But apart from operating economies, synergy
may also arise from enhanced managerial capabilities, creativity,
innovativeness, R&D and market coverage capacity due to the complementarity
of resources and skills and a widened horizon of opportunities.
Diversifying the risks of the company, particularly when it
acquires those businesses whose income streams are not correlated.
Diversification implies growth through the combination of firms in unrelated
businesses. It results in reduction of total risks through substantial
reduction of cyclicality of operations. The combination of management and other
systems strengthen the capacity of the combined firm to withstand the severity
of the unforeseen economic factors which could otherwise endanger the survival
of the individual companies.
A merger may result in financial synergy and benefits for
the firm in many ways:-
By eliminating financial constraints
By enhancing debt capacity. This is because a merger of two
companies can bring stability of cash flows which in turn reduces the risk of
insolvency and enhances the capacity of the new entity to service a larger
amount of debt
By lowering the financial costs. This is because due to
financial stability, the merged firm is able to borrow at a lower rate of
interest.
Limiting the severity of competition by increasing the
company’s market power. A merger can increase the market share of the merged
firm. This improves the profitability of the firm due to economies of scale.
The bargaining power of the firm vis-à-vis labour, suppliers and buyers is also
enhanced. The merged firm can exploit technological breakthroughs against
obsolescence and price wars.
Procedure for evaluating the decision for mergers and
acquisitions
The three important steps involved in the analysis of
mergers and acquisitions are:-
Planning:- of acquisition will require the analysis of
industry-specific and firm-specific information. The acquiring firm should
review its objective of acquisition in the context of its strengths and
weaknesses and corporate goals. It will need industry data on market growth,
nature of competition, ease of entry, capital and labour intensity, degree of regulation,
etc. This will help in indicating the product-market strategies that are
appropriate for the company. It will also help the firm in identifying the
business units that should be dropped or added. On the other hand, the target
firm will need information about quality of management, market share and size,
capital structure, profitability, production and marketing capabilities, etc.
Search and Screening:- Search focuses on how and where to
look for suitable candidates for acquisition. Screening process short-lists a
few candidates from many available and obtains detailed information about each
of them.
Financial Evaluation:- of a merger is needed to determine
the earnings and cash flows, areas of risk, the maximum price payable to the
target company and the best way to finance the merger. In a competitive market
situation, the current market value is the correct and fair value of the share
of the target firm. The target firm will not accept any offer below the current
market value of its share. The target firm may, in fact, expect the offer price
to be more than the current market value of its share since it may expect that
merger benefits will accrue to the acquiring firm.
A merger is said to be at a premium when the offer price is
higher than the target firm’s pre-merger market value. The acquiring firm may
have to pay premium as an incentive to target firm’s shareholders to induce
them to sell their shares so that it (acquiring firm) is able to obtain the
control of the target firm.
Regulations for Mergers & Acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions are regulated under various laws in
India. The objective of the laws is to make these deals transparent and protect
the interest of all shareholders. They are regulated through the provisions of
:-
The Companies Act, 1956
The Act lays down the legal procedures for mergers or
acquisitions :-
Permission for merger:- Two or more companies can amalgamate
only when the amalgamation is permitted under their memorandum of association.
Also, the acquiring company should have the permission in its object clause to
carry on the business of the acquired company. In the absence of these
provisions in the memorandum of association, it is necessary to seek the
permission of the shareholders, board of directors and the Company Law Board
before affecting the merger.
Information to the stock exchange:- The acquiring and the
acquired companies should inform the stock exchanges (where they are listed)
about the merger.
Approval of board of directors:- The board of directors of
the individual companies should approve the draft proposal for amalgamation and
authorise the managements of the companies to further pursue the proposal.
Application in the High Court:- An application for approving
the draft amalgamation proposal duly approved by the board of directors of the
individual companies should be made to the High Court.
Shareholders’ and creators’ meetings:- The individual
companies should hold separate meetings of their shareholders and creditors for
approving the amalgamation scheme. At least, 75 percent of shareholders and
creditors in separate meeting, voting in person or by proxy, must accord their
approval to the scheme.
Sanction by the High Court:- After the approval of the
shareholders and creditors, on the petitions of the companies, the High Court
will pass an order, sanctioning the amalgamation scheme after it is satisfied
that the scheme is fair and reasonable. The date of the court’s hearing will be
published in two newspapers, and also, the regional director of the Company Law
Board will be intimated.
Filing of the Court order:- After the Court order, its
certified true copies will be filed with the Registrar of Companies.
Transfer of assets and liabilities:- The assets and
liabilities of the acquired company will be transferred to the acquiring
company in accordance with the approved scheme, with effect from the specified
date.
Payment by cash or securities:- As per the proposal, the
acquiring company will exchange shares and debentures and/or cash for the
shares and debentures of the acquired company. These securities will be listed
on the stock exchange.
