The Consulting and Strategy Consortium of XIMB (CONSTRAT) organised its annual business conclave, Stratonomics 2019, on August 11. The theme was “Mergers and Acquisitions: Myth or reality for long-term sustainable growth”. The aim was to discuss how mergers and acquisitions have led to profit-making and growth of industries.
Economy, the net return and value addition are a few of the many deciding factors when it comes to mergers and acquisitions. The speakers addressed various aspects M&As and focused on the grey areas of sustainable tie-ups. Dr Amar KJR Nayak, Professor of General Management and Strategic Management, raised questions such as “What compels a firm to go for a M&A?”, “Does a M&A ease the way business is done?”, “What is the optimal size of a company in respect to the industry?,” for the speakers and the audience to discuss and take forward.
Understand shareholder’s value
Rahul Gupta, Director, Strategy and M&A, Cognizant Technology Solutions, shed light on engagement approval, negotiations and valuations of M&As. He addressed the theme from a process perspective and added that understanding the time to market and the shareholder’s value are the key factors in a successful deal. He encouraged the students be positive and have the passion to innovate to have a successful career in M&A strategy.
Dinesh Agrawal, Global Head — M&A, L&T Infotech Ltd, spoke on investments from the M&A point of view. Customers should be the top priority when it comes to such ventures, he said. He stressed the point of active risk-taking as being a key criterion for M&As in the market. Agrawal described the real-time requirements of an M&A — purchase agreements, right price points and process, and a sound team. He spoke about the difference between general partners and limited partners of a firm, and how an investment bank is the primary source of information on M&As.
Winners of Midnight Stratomania 2019 — an online quiz, and Consilium 2019 — a white paper writing contest, were announced. The Strategist, CONSTRAT’s annual magazine, was launched.
BusinessLine on Campus (BLoC) is XIMB’s media partner for the conclave series.