CMB Packaging: Dissecting a Transnational Merger

Abstract

As 1992 approaches, many managers are experiencing a rude awakening to the insecurities of deregulation and the risk of foreign incursions into their own markets, space once thought inviolable. They are being caught off-guard and embarking on a frantic race to secure their positions once again through ad hoc joint ventures, mergers or acquisitions. Potential partners are sought out, approached and, ‘under the sword of Damocles’, contracts are signed; yet they fail to realise that their respective initiatives may be doomed from the start. While the new market share figures may suddenly have boosted their companies to unimagined heights, the ‘soft’ or cultural aspects of the deal are often ignored and devalued. This is particularly true in instances of cross-cultural mergers or acquisitions. While joining up two companies, whatever the legal form may be, is already a complicated matter, transnational deals face even greater obstacles. The problems are no longer limited to reconciling different corporate cultures, but extend to communication barriers, issues of national pride and questions of logistics, such as on whose home turf headquarters should be located.