Archive for July, 2009

In China, ‘Survival’ in M&A may mean just staying alive!

Posted on 29 July 2009. Filed under: Stories about surviving M&A deals |

A manager in China was killed by rioting employees when he gave them a speech telling them that they would be made redundant within three days following the acquisition of their company.  The riots also left over 100 people injured.  The full story is here from Management Today.

As that article states, ‘And while we can’t in all conscience recommend such a drastic course of action, it does seem to have worked – for the time being at least. The deal has been scrapped and the jobs are reportedly safe.’  This weblog is intended to provide people with tips and ideas about how to survive if your company is undergoing a merger or acquisition, and it must be said that this is not a suggestion recommended here or in the Surviving M&A book.  ‘Don’t try this yourself at home’, as they say on TV.

Prior to this, as also noted in that article, the French custom of kidnapping managers and holding them for ransom if jobs will be lost is no longer the example of extreme reactions to the announcement of M&A deals.

Anyone else with examples of severe actions taken when a deal is announced, although I certainly hope none will include bodily harm!