Shows how the decision-making process in large, complex firms creates problems for acquisition management. Case (A) describes the acquisition by EUROCHEM, the European branch of UNICHEM, a large US chemical firm, of Francoplast, a small, pipe-making, French family firm. The case can be used on its own or followed by the Francoplast (B) case, which discusses post-acquisition management.
To examine the quality of acquisition evaluation and see how that quality is affected by the decision-making process prevalent in large organisations (sponsorship, multiple functional hurdles); to explore acquisition process problems (multiple perspectives, excessive momentum) and the difficulties of diversifying business development within a matrix structure.
