CEO admits “the biggest mistake in corporate history”

In 2001, internet service provider AOL completed a $164bn (£104bn) takeover of US media giant Time Warner. There were lots of crazy takeovers going on during the dot.com boom (and bust) during that period, but the AOL/Time-Warner deal is often cited as a spectacularly bad one.  And now there is an admission that the strategic decision taken by AOL was perhaps the worst in business history.

This article in the Telegraph contains some useful background and describes the admission by Jeff Bewkes, the chairman and chief executive of Time Warner.

The article makes reference to “strengths” (link to SWOT) and to the need for a business to focus on activities where it can genuinely add value.

The New York Times has this excellent retrospective article almost 10 years on about why the merger failed.  Essential reading for any A2 business strategy student.

Rising to the top of the milk [22 May 2012]
6 Essential M&A Cases: Tata Group buys Jaguar Land Rover [21 May 2012]
Should you buy Facebook shares? [17 May 2012]
AQA BUSS4 - ‘with reference to *** plc and your own research ....’ [13 May 2012]
Takeovers and Mergers - A Casino Gamble? [12 May 2012]
Takeovers and Mergers - Vue on the Growth Trail! [12 May 2012]
Takeovers and Mergers - the failed takeover behind Clinton Cards’ Collapse [9 May 2012]
Vodafone takes over Cable and Wireless Worldwide [23 Apr 2012]
6 Essential M&A Cases: BA & Iberia Merge to Form IAG [23 Apr 2012]
BUSS4: 6 Essential M&A Cases [22 Apr 2012]
Easy ride for Audi? [19 Apr 2012]
Takeovers and Mergers - Cost Synergies in Action at BMI [17 Apr 2012]
Takeovers and Mergers: Facebook & Instagram in News Clips [14 Apr 2012]
ResearchBuster: Acquisitions [8 Apr 2012]
BUSS4 M&A - the Benefits of Foreign Takeovers of UK Firms [7 Apr 2012]
IAG bid for BMI receives approval [3 Apr 2012]
The Main Motives Behind Takeovers and Mergers [26 Mar 2012]
“Strategy is Choice” - Takeovers are Just One Option [25 Mar 2012]
Starbucks acquisition provides the base for entry into the juice bar market [25 Mar 2012]
Game Over? [13 Mar 2012]
Tata & Jaguar Land Rover - Culture and Strategy [11 Mar 2012]
Takeover and merger integration: lessons from the experts (GE Capital) [9 Mar 2012]
Can we learn lessons in business organisation from the mittelstand model [8 Mar 2012]
Mergers in Action - All Systems Go for United? [5 Mar 2012]
Takeover troubles - Has the Co=operative got Indigestion with the Somerfield Integration? [5 Mar 2012]
Takeovers and Mergers - tutor2u Mini Briefs [4 Mar 2012]
Takeovers and Mergers - the BUSS4 Card Game [4 Mar 2012]
Takeovers - the Indian Experience [4 Mar 2012]
Mergers - problems first, synergies later [2 Mar 2012]
Google’s takeover of Motorola Mobility is given regulatory seal of approval [22 Feb 2012]
Takeover insights: Kraft & Cadbury - The Story in Video Clips [22 Feb 2012]
Takeover insights: Kraft & Cadbury - Behind the Scenes of the Bid Defence [22 Feb 2012]
Tata and the rise of Jaguar Land Rover [22 Feb 2012]
Takeover insights: Kraft & Cadbury - Justifying the Deal [22 Feb 2012]
Takeovers and Mergers - the Language of M&A [16 Feb 2012]
AQA BUSS4 CPD Briefing Days in 2012 [16 Feb 2012]
M&A - It’s time to merge breakfast cereals with some crisps… [15 Feb 2012]
The Strategic Challenges Facing International Airlines Group - Interview with Willie Walsh [14 Feb 2012]
For sale - three sixth form colleges [13 Feb 2012]
M&A: 8 ways to make a success of a takeover [12 Feb 2012]
Q&A: What are synergies in takeovers and mergers? [12 Feb 2012]
Insights on takeovers and mergers from KPMG’s 2011 global survey [12 Feb 2012]
Takeovers - the search for cost synergies [7 Feb 2012]
The story of a failed takeover - Fred Goodwin, RBS & ABN-Amro [6 Feb 2012]
Takeovers in the UK - the long-term trend [5 Feb 2012]
Cadbury’s Law - Should UK Firms be Protected from Takeover? [2 Feb 2012]
Mastering the art of merger integration [1 Feb 2012]
BUSS4 research - some initial ideas [31 Jan 2012]
BUSS4 2012 - Mergers and Takeovers on the Business Studies Blog [31 Jan 2012]
The Guardian on Takeovers and Mergers [31 Jan 2012]
Strategic choice: What should Apple do for its investors? [29 Jan 2012]
Consolidation on the cards as IAG claims deal to acquire BMI [6 Nov 2011]
Olaf takes the knife to management hierarchy [5 Sep 2011]
High growth, fast-track firms that end on the scrapheap [2 Aug 2011]
The costs of redundancy [5 Jul 2011]
Focus on customers, not shareholders for long-term success [21 Jun 2011]
Nestle and Diversification - Investing in Healthcare [25 May 2011]
Stay small and focused - business lessons from Adele [24 May 2011]
Profit, not external growth, should be the sensible strategy? [22 May 2011]
Strategy explained - Insights into Amazon [13 May 2011]
Whitbread goes for organic growth [2 May 2011]
Horizontal integration in action - Virgin grabs Esporta [26 Apr 2011]
HMV Strategy - Death of a Billion Downloads [24 Apr 2011]
Life in the chocolate factory - automation, productivity, motivation and culture [24 Apr 2011]
Strategy and bargaining power - food for thought [22 Mar 2011]
Change management - Kraft and Cadbury One Year On (FT) [14 Mar 2011]
CSR becomes the Strategy for Co-operative [5 Mar 2011]
External growth - Diageo on the acquisition trail [21 Feb 2011]
Takeovers: What happens next? [16 Feb 2011]
Michael Porter - Shared Value and the Limitations of CSR [15 Feb 2011]
Cadbury and Kraft One Year On - Culture and Change [12 Feb 2011]
Stakeholder or shareholder: who matters most? [28 Dec 2010]
Q&A - Why do acquisitions often fail to deliver acceptable returns? [28 Dec 2010]
Q&A - What is meant by “synergy” in the context of a business acquisition [28 Dec 2010]
Q&A - Why are acquisitions so popular as a method of business expansion? [21 Dec 2010]
Q&A - Explain what is meant by acquisitions or takeovers [21 Dec 2010]
Growing market share by stealth?  Tesco and One Stop [17 Dec 2010]
Nestle completes takeover of Jenny Craig’s - great synergies??? [15 Dec 2010]
Kraft’s CEO on why it bought Cadbury’s [22 Oct 2010]
Google, Profits and Diversification [16 Oct 2010]
Lesson Worksheet - Business Growth Basics [29 Sep 2010]
Strategy in Action: “Buying Growth is Not a Strategy” [20 Sep 2010]
Chicken Takes Over Burger, But Where’s The Beef? [19 Sep 2010]
External growth strategy - takeovers back in fashion for large UK firms post recession [29 Aug 2010]
Kraft’s Cadbury takeover triggers management exodus [26 Jul 2010]
Is the mega-merger falling out of fashion? [7 Jun 2010]
Growth strategy - takeovers return to building supplies [3 Jun 2010]
Strategy in Action - the Return of External Growth [28 May 2010]
Strategy Case Study - Asda Nets Netto [28 May 2010]
BUSS4 - A Clash of Two Cultures [16 May 2010]
A business that really takes acquisitions and disposals seriously [27 Mar 2010]
Unilever in the recession - the CEO on strategy [25 Mar 2010]
Strategy in the UK Recession - What 69 UK CEOs Did About It [22 Feb 2010]
AQA BUSS4 Section B Practice Question - ITV & News Corp [7 Feb 2010]
AQA BUSS4 Section B Practice Question - Royal Bank of Scotland [7 Feb 2010]
Stakeholders in action - the Bournville demonstration [28 Jan 2010]
Teaching strategy - Cadbury and why takeovers rarely work [24 Jan 2010]
Reflections on the ‘Worst Deal in History’ – and the Best [6 Jan 2010]
What’s behind the BA and Iberia Merger? [19 Nov 2009]
Could mergers come back into fashion? [25 Sep 2009]

BUSINESS TEACHER RESOURCE NEWSLETTER
Get first news of business teaching resources, ideas and other materials from tutor2u. Over 9,400 business teachers from the UK and around the world receive our regular teacher email newsletters. Sign up for free here!