Skip to content
Product cover

Negotiating Cross-Border Acquisitions

January 15, 1998 | James K. Sebenius | Strategy

With the increasing number of mergers and acquisitions, particularly across national borders, the importance of knowing how to approach delicate negotiations has grown. In this case study and interview, James Sebenius traces an Italian copper-products company's negotiations to provide important lessons for anyone involved in cross-border transactions.

Sebenius interviewed Sergio Ceccuzzi, management board member of KM Europa Metal AG and chairman of its subsidiary, Europa Metalli SpA. Together they discuss the growth of the holding company, SMI (Societa Metallurgica Italiana SpA). In 1965, SMI was one of many small and medium-sized copper transformation companies in Italy. Over the years, it developed a strategy of growth by acquisition, but only in areas that amplified its line of business. It first acquired Finmeccanica, a state-owned competitor, at a time when privatization in Italy was anathema. Next, through skillful negotiations, it acquired its major French competitor, Tr_fim_taux, also a state-owned firm. And, in its most difficult transaction, it overcame formidable obstacles to acquire Kabel-metal AG, a German competitor.

Throughout his conversation with Ceccuzzi, the author indicates specific lessons to be learned from each deal. In summary, he encapsulates the lessons into twelve major points, among them: be willing to wait, sometimes for years, for the right circumstances to culminate the deal; establish good personal relationships; map out the likely players in the deal and assess their interests, not yours; figure out how to deal with potential deal blockers; and, perhaps most important, remember that, even after the deal is done, negotiation does not stop.

Purchase Options

Educator and Student Discounts Available. Learn more »

  BENCHMARKS  
Loading Time: Base Classes  0.0009
My Controller Construct  0.0003
Build Nav  0.0006
Controller Execution Time ( Products / Route )  0.1495
Total Execution Time  0.1504
  GET DATA  
No GET data exists
  MEMORY USAGE  
1.5597 MB
  POST DATA  
No POST data exists
  URI STRING  
store/negotiating-cross-border-acquisitions
  CLASS/METHOD  
products/route
  DATABASE:  MITSLOAN_DEV   QUERIES: 68  (Hide)
0.0006  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0010  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'b6c9c9eb4781f57163198cf45962edd5'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS cat_id
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `status_id` =  'A'
AND `url_friendly` =  'negotiating-cross-border-acquisitions'
AND `parent_id` =  1 
0.0104  

SELECT c.parent_id, c.format_id
                    FROM products AS p, products AS c
                    WHERE p.prod_id = c.parent_id AND
                        c.avail_id IN ('A','B','D') AND
                        c.type_id = 'V' AND
                        (
                            c.sku = 'negotiating-cross-border-acquisitions' OR
                            if(c.format_id = 'Certificate', '', p.url_friendly) = 'negotiating-cross-border-acquisitions'
                        )
                    LIMIT 1 
0.0003  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  2297 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '2297' 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '2297'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0002  

SELECT `cat_id`
FROM (`product_categories__products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '2297' 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`product_flags__products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '2297' 
0.0001  

SELECT `sku`
FROM (`products__xsell`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '2297'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.1004  

SELECT `products`.`parent_id`
FROM (`transaction_lines`)
JOIN `products` ON `products`.`sku` = `transaction_lines`.`sku`
JOIN `product_categories__products` ON `products`.`parent_id` = `product_categories__products`.`prod_id`
WHERE `products`.`avail_id` =  'A'
AND TO_DAYS(transaction_lines.updated_at) < (TO_DAYS(NOW()) - 90)
AND `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` IN ('249') 
GROUP BY `products`.`parent_id`
ORDER BY COUNT(*) DESC
LIMIT 6 
0.0004  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '361' 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '361' 
0.0005  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '361'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0007  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '3961' 
0.0007  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '3961' 
0.0007  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '3961'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0004  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '35' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '35' 
0.0006  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '35'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0002  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '179' 
0.0027  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '179' 
0.0008  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '179'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0021  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '489' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '489' 
0.0015  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '489'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0002  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '2465' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '2465' 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '2465'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0008  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '2297'
AND `kind` =  'image_600x600'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `media`.`media_id` =  '1036' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`mime_types`)
WHERE `mime_types`.`extension` =  'jpg' 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`media_metadata`)
WHERE `media_id` =  '1036' 
0.0011  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '2297'
AND `kind` =  'gallery_image'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0005  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `avail_id` IN ('A', 'B', 'C', 'H') 
AND `parent_id` =  '2297'
AND `type_id` =  'V'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position`, `title` 
0.0001  

SELECT `c`.`format_id`, `c`.`price`, `c`.`sale_price`
FROM (`products` AS c)
WHERE `c`.`prod_id` =  '2298'
LIMIT 1 
0.0002  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '2298'
AND `kind` =  'thumbnail'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0002  

SELECT `product_categories__products`.`cat_id`
FROM (`product_categories__products`)
JOIN `product_categories` ON `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` = `product_categories`.`cat_id`
WHERE `product_categories__products`.`prod_id` =  '2297'
AND `product_categories`.`parent_id` =  1
AND `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` NOT IN (1, 261)  
0.0004  

SELECT `cat_id` AS id, `parent_id` AS parent, `status_id`, `name`, `description`, `url_friendly`, `page_title`, `meta_keywords`, `meta_description`, `position`, `updated_at`
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `cat_id` != 1
ORDER BY `parent_id`, IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position`, `name` 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `status_id` =  'A'
AND `parent_id` =  1
AND `cat_id` NOT IN (1, 261) 
ORDER BY `name` 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`site_settings`)
WHERE `option_key` =  'announcement' 
  HTTP HEADERS  (Show)
  SESSION DATA  (Show)
  CONFIG VARIABLES  (Show)