Getting growth right: How due diligence aids successful mergers

Abstract

My local soccer team has spent its entire existence to date struggling in the lower reaches of English football. But a couple of years ago, the club raised more than a few eyebrows by pulling off what most people regarded as a transfer coup. Now the player in question was no world-beater but he was an established performer at a much higher level. So was the move a success? Unfortunately not. In fact, in both football and business terms it was a disaster. The player spent most of the year on the treatment table and started just two games all season. Despite this, he still picked up his hefty paycheck every month. The result? At the end of the campaign the club was relegated and very nearly went out of business. © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited