An M&A lesson: Should money always talk?

The recent economic downturn has caused a shake‐up in the private equity markets—with important implications for mergers and acquisitions (M&As). One recent merger agreement—once lauded as exemplary—has disintegrated into four separate, contentious lawsuits. What went wrong there? And what lessons does it hold to prevent similar disasters in the future? © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.