Free «Merger, Acquisition and International Strategies Marketing» Essay

Introduction

The primary reason for the companies to engage in mergers and acquisitions is to create shareholder value. The businesses have to grow to increase the financial positions. There are many strategies to achieve the stable position in the market, including merger and acquisition. The approach enables a company or business to gain access to proprietary assets. Most organizations may not be able to have access to the aforementioned assets when working alone. M&A strategy also enables firms to enhance their dominance in the market and increase their market power. The essay analyzes four corporations, which have merged with another; one company that has the potential to merge, but has not merged. The paper also provides the strategies for one international organization, which operates freely around the globe; and the business with local operations.

Evaluation of AT &T and T-Mobile Merger

In the year 2011, AT &T which is the biggest wireless provider in the United States merged with T-Mobile. The strategic move resulted in the confusion of main competitor Verizon Wireless.  T-Mobile incurred significant benefits as a result of the contract as it reduced the debts through acquiring of AT & T stock value (Worthman, 2012). The acquisition of AT &T focuses on strengthening its network and increasing the coverage. The management attempts to expand the long-term evolution deployment of technology. The merger between the two companies was triggered by the pursuit to gain relevance in the wireless market and gain a competitive advantage in the industry. Ideally, businesses create alliances to share costs and risks involved in the production. The new business collaboration aims to improve the two companies’ competitive edge. At the same time, the returns enjoyed by companies participating in a merger depend on the size of the companies. Big and well-established companies tend to benefit more from a merger than smaller ones. The reason is that the impact of large corporations on the market is higher as compared to small firms.

Before the merger, T-Mobile faced issues with its stocks dwindling down. The problem left the company with the just only solution, which is to merge with AT &T. The contract was beneficial to both companies. The merged businesses offered a greater range of products and services, thus promoting diversification. The two organizations were able to make use of the best minds from the two companies to steer the joint company forward. The combined skills and talent of the employees enabled the company to improve the operations, thus increasing the shareholder value. The merger proved beneficial to both companies in the tough economic time.

Previously T-Moble had only been focusing on basic services, such as voice mail, texting, weekend free minutes and accessible plans to existing customers. The management had forgotten to upgrade their networks. Consequently, the company has been challenged by their competitors. At first, the organization operated effectively, but when the wireless data network arrived, the business incurred losses. The customers preferred the modern technology, as they were using new devices and wanted affordable wireless data services. AT & T and other companies in the business were upgrading their systems and attracted more customers through having a competitive edge over T-Mobile (Worthman, 2012). AT &T capitalized on the prospect to merge with T-Mobile. As a result, the new corporation took the position of the largest wireless provider in the US. The company had taken notice that T-Mobile was a significant competitor, and took that opportunity to merge with it. Today, both companies benefit from the merger, because they have a competitive edge over their competitors like Verizon Wireless Company.

A couple of factors contribute to the success of a merger. Firstly, the two companies ought to be interested in one another. Secondly, the quality of a merger is attributed to the management's resilient decisions. In the given case, the administration of the two companies was willing to merge to achieve success in the industry. Four basic elements were required for the merger of the two companies to be valid. They include acceptance and offer, intention to generate legal plans, consideration of challenges and opportunities, and legal capacity. For a merger to be valid, the two parties, who wish to engage in an agreement, must understand the legal and ethical aspects of the endeavor to be binding. AT & T and T-Mobile were willing to combine their effort and understood the effects of the merger. Thus, their merger was valid and successful.

Potential Merger Candidate for Publix Super Markets Inc

One of the organizations that has been operating independently, but can benefit from a merger is Publix Super Markets Inc.  The supermarket has privately owned divisions, which operate as retail groceries supermarkets in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama. The corporation sells grocery goods, which include the bakery, seafood, dairy produce, meat, deli, as well as health and beauty care. The line of the merchandise consists of a number of brands, which are advertised on the national level. They include both labeled and private labeled brands. The company has been receiving the different products through the distribution channels in different regions. The company has many competitors, including Bi-Lo supermarkets.

The Publix Super Markets can make a decision to sign a merger with Bi-Lo supermarket. The strategy creates value for the two businesses, as they compete in the retail industry. The merger can increase the customers’ satisfaction, as the decision will give birth to new savings opportunities for the clients. The acquisition would leverage the relationship with customers as the corporations will be able to provide better services together. The approach will result in satisfied customers that create customer loyalty and retention. Thus, successful mergers benefit the companies and consumers.

The merger will help the joint company increase its market share through attracting new customers. Therefore, the joint company is provided with larger customer base. The larger distribution network and market presence increases sales; thus increasing the profits. The merged companies will offer a greater range of products and services through promoting diversification. The growth of profits and market share correlate to the increased shareholder’s value. Nonetheless, the chances of a failure are usually high, especially if the companies involved in the merger cannot define the common strategy. A merger is also doomed to fail if the companies do not integrate their businesses and organizational culture. In order to achieve the initially defined objectives, the two organizations need to carry out the strategic market research to identify the changes in market patterns. The management should also engage their stakeholders in the decision-making, and inform them of the progress to retain their loyalty. The aforementioned strategies will be instrumental in gaining momentum and closing the gap in the food industry.

International Business-Level Strategy and International Corporate-Level Strategy of Apple and Recommendations for Improvement

The recent years have seen many companies engage in foreign investment as a strategy to enhance their ability to compete in the market. The decision to merge has enabled many companies to increase their market share. The strategies employed to survive international market differ from the local ones (Ahlstrom & Bruton, 2010). The statistics shows that a strategy can work in one country but fail in another region. An example of the corporation that operates internationally is Apple Inc.

The Apple enterprise is a global company that was started in 1977. The company majorly manufactures and distributes electronic gadgets and computer programs. The organization is a globally known leader that has excellent reputations. Apple Company is one of the electronic producers that have managed to develop a global network and offers a wide variety of products and services to the market of different regions (Ashcroft, 2012).

The competitors of Apple, including Samsung, Microsoft, and Nokia, also have presence in the international market. In order to address the competitive struggle, Apple has been using differentiation strategies whereby its products are exclusive and have always been number one in the computer manufacturing industry. The company has been targeting customers that are willing to pay the premium prices for the top-quality product. However, the corporation might consider introducing the affordable products if it is to compete in international arena, particularly in the Chinese markets. The international level strategy by Apple mainly emphasizes the firm’s operations scope via its product and geographic diversification (Ashcroft, 2012).

The company has only been engaged in differentiation. Diversification of its products to meet different market segments may result in the increased profits for the organization. The company should consider manufacturing products for the lower end of the market to increase its market presence. The Apple mobiles phones face stiff competition from the company's key rivals. In order to withstand competition, the company ought to utilize various success factors such as customer satisfaction, strong financial position, and innovative manufacturing processes among others.

The Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategy Proposal for Southwest Airline

Southwest Airline was established to provide frequent low-cost airline services to the market. The company is dedicated to offering high-quality services to its customers. Their strategic goal has been to offer low-cost services to the market. Its products involve offering the travel services to the low and middle-class consumers (Arthur & Gamble, 2010). Southwest Airline has successfully proven to be the best low-fare airline in the industry, which attracted a large number of consumers.

There are market opportunities available to the Southwest Airline. The recognition of the prospects can create the competitive advantage and strategies. Many companies see an opportunity of merger and acquisition as a chance for growth; thus, the firm needs to introduce the specific strategies to match their funds and resources so as to get the competitive advantage over the other firms. The most appropriate opportunities for the Southwest Airline on the corporate level include expansion into larger markets and increasing its fleet to become a bigger airline. It could allow the business to enter the certain customer divisions and geographic markets. The opportunities present different ways for commercial growth and mainly potential for their competitive edge. The Company needs to manage many elements of their strategy that have confirmed strong effects, e.g. the low-cost structure.