China's mergers & acquisitions : a comparison with the United States

Abstract

Mergers and acquisitions are widely researched in the United States. The M&A in China, however, is not so clear. There are plenty of successful companies in the United States growing by M&A to global powerhouse, which is seldom to see in China. This thesis presents the current status of China's M&A from a holistic perspective through comparison with global M&A. By a detailed case study of Cisco and the Bank of America, I settled a benchmark for China's peer companies through analysis covering from corporate strategy selection to M&A deal making process to operational integration. To make these findings relevant to China's context, I researched two Chinese firms, Ping An of China and Shanghai Fosun, both of which are growing fast by serial M&A. A comparison is employed throughout both companies in the United States and China. The finding implies significant lessons for Chinese firms in these industries as well as others in a broad base regarding M&A in China.