Although you can learn something from studying all mergers, regardless of whether they succeed or fail, it’s always wise to emulate the decision-making process used in those that prove profitable. Here’s a look at three of America’s most successful corporations (Disney, ExxonMobil, and Sirius) that have all successfully merged with other powerful companies and are still benefitting from those transactions.
Disney, ExxonMobil, and Sirius have all not only survived their high-profile mergers, they continue to set the pace for their competitors. Additional information about several key merger decisions is set forth below.
Basic Facts About Important Disney, ExxonMobil, and Sirius Mergers
When the Walt Disney Company bought Pixar. As one CNN headline put it, “The House of Mouse is teaming up with Pixar in a 7.4 billion deal.” Back in January 2006, this corporate merger had nearly everyone talking about the growth opportunities awaiting these companies. It was viewed as a merger bringing “together Disney’s historic franchise of animated characters such as Mickey, Minnie Mouse, and Donald Duck, with Pixar’s stables of cartoon hits “including the ‘Toy Story’ films and ‘Finding Nemo.’”
Although Disney had been the sole entity to release Pixar’s movies prior to their merger, there were many other creative opportunities waiting to be born once these two became a team. While Steve Jobs (of both Apple and Pixar) has since passed away, at the time of this deal, he became a board member of Disney;
When Sirius Satellite Radio merged with XM Satellite Radio. Back in 2008, after extensive paperwork had been filed with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and thoroughly investigated for more than a year, Sirius was finally allowed to “join forces” with its rival XM Satellite Radio. The FCC had naturally been concerned about permitting the first two licensed satellite radio stations to merge together in this new media field.
For quite some time, a number of experts questioned whether this merger was a true success. However, Barron’s website published a November 2013 article that clearly puts that question to rest. Entitled, “Sirius XM’s Sweet Sound of Success,” the article states that this company’s “stock might even rise by 50%.” This was quite a forecast since at one point back in 2009, the company’s “shares fell as low as five cents.” Although this
merger’s success can be attributed to many factors, it has clearly been helped by its program roster featuring such celebrities as Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, and Oprah;
When Exxon and Mobil decided to merge. Considering the ongoing rise in the cost of gasoline and related products, this merger had a lot going for it from the start. Back in 1999, these two potent Wall Street forces signed an $81 billion agreement that led to the creation of ExxonMobil –“the largest company in the world.” While many disasters all around the globe regularly threaten oil reserves, this company keeps making huge, almost unfathomable profits. Like Walmart, “ExxonMobil remains one of the world’s largest publicly held companies.”
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