印度A公司收购英国Huntsworth

Already an outstanding local player in India’s public relations industry, Corporation A faced a challenge of acquisition. After pursuing market expansion through several acquisitions at home, A looked abroad for new opportunities. In 2011, it made plans to acquire Huntsworth, a famous UK-based public relations corporation with which A had once cooperated. Huntsworth had been built up by the British PR guru Peter Chadlington since 1998 when he sold Weber Shandwick, and had a host of global customers including such famous brands as Citigate and Grayling. There were disagreements about the acquisition of Huntsworth among A’s board members. On the one hand, it was thought that the acquisition of Huntsworth would speed up A’s internationalization and be beneficial for its return on net assets. On the other hand, concerns were expressed over Huntsworth’s over-indebtedness as well as the management issues after acquisition. In this case, students will step into the shoes of Mr. Ding — a counselor invited by A’s board of directors — to give advice on the acquisition of Huntsworth, thereby getting a better understanding of the issues related to acquisition decisions.