A Triadic Process View of Divestors, Targets, and Acquirers

Abstract

Although extant post-acquisition literature has mainly focused on the integration of stand-alone firms, many acquisitions involve select units that were divested from former parents. Scholars have therefore recently called for moving beyond the dominant dyadic acquirer–target view of the acquisition process to a triadic view that considers the roles of, and interactions between, divestors, targets, and acquirers in the acquisition process. The authors set out to build an extended process view of such triadic relations based on a five-year longitudinal case study of one entrepreneurial company, acquiring two divested units from large multinational companies. The case sheds light on how divestors and acquirers together shape synergy realization efforts and identity-building by targets, causing dramatic shifts in perceptions of success throughout the acquisition process. The authors hope the case offers greater understanding, and triggers more research, into mingled integration and disintegration processes. The authors also highlight three impediments that can shape post-acquisition choices and discontinuous processes when acquiring divested units.

Citation

Faems, D. and Reus, T.H. (2023), "A Triadic Process View of Divestors, Targets, and Acquirers", Cooper, C.L. and Finkelstein, S. (Ed.) Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions (Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions, Vol. 22), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 51-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-361X20230000022004