How do Mergers Work?

[P5se Camelback]

Looks like we may have hit a sore spot for biL. I sympathize. For a readable look at a railroad merger that went poorly from the planning stages to its eventual failure you might want to check out "The Wreck of the Penn Central" by Joseph R. Daughen and Peter Binzen. It describes the behind the scenes thinking and maneuvering involved in bringing two formerly competing roads together. Ralph

Sorry! But you did hit that nail right on the head, Ralph! Three times in a row ... and the result was a career that essentially would never recover from the years "wasted" at the "buyee" of a "merger" (where those who worked for the "buyer" got raises and increased responsibility and those who worked for the "buyee" lost their jobs - to me, that's the textbook result of a hostile takeover!) Yes, Ralph, a very sore spot, still, all these years later!

But the question was very much a business kind of question. However, I was not even aware that there was a book like the one you recommended and I may just have to pay a visit to our local library (such that it is) and see if they have a copy that I might read ... it would be interesting to know what the thinking was that would end with the two giants, who waged battle against each other for decades, joining together as one business entity!