Too often, bigcorps acquire successful smaller companies, then try to micromanage them in ways that negate the attributes that make them successful.
If you've bought a goose that lays golden eggs, why would you mess with it? Just collect the gold every day and shut up.
You'd think they'd learn to act like a shareholder and keep their hands off day-to-day operations, just stepping in to support the acquiree when its management asks for help that the parent's in a good position to provide, like expansion capital or coordinated marketing.
Of course, all of this is predicated on the acquisition's actually laying eggs consistently -- the parent corp needs to make it clear that they'll come in with a heavy hand of micromanagement, or disband the acquired business unit altogether, if its financial performance is bad enough.
All of what I've said so far only applies when the acquirer's primary target is the revenue the acquiree is generating; it doesn't necessarily apply to companies that are acquired for specific assets such as talent, branding, or technology.
If you've bought a goose that lays golden eggs, why would you mess with it? Just collect the gold every day and shut up.
You'd think they'd learn to act like a shareholder and keep their hands off day-to-day operations, just stepping in to support the acquiree when its management asks for help that the parent's in a good position to provide, like expansion capital or coordinated marketing.
Of course, all of this is predicated on the acquisition's actually laying eggs consistently -- the parent corp needs to make it clear that they'll come in with a heavy hand of micromanagement, or disband the acquired business unit altogether, if its financial performance is bad enough.
All of what I've said so far only applies when the acquirer's primary target is the revenue the acquiree is generating; it doesn't necessarily apply to companies that are acquired for specific assets such as talent, branding, or technology.