International Journal of Case Studies (ISSN Online 2305-509X)

Volume 10, Issue 5
IMPACT FACTOR 4.428

1) Does Merger and Acquisition benefit the shareholders of the acquiring firm? The case of Microsoft and LinkedIn
Author’s Details: Bassam Mansour Alahmadi-Supervisor: Dr. Olga Gorelkina-University of Liverpool-Management School, Accounting and Finance-2019-2020 Email: Bassam.mans.a@gmail.com
Abstract:
Microsoft Corporation completed the acquisition of LinkedIn at the end of December 2016, for a purchase price of $27.0 billion on aggregate. The deal, the largest ever for Microsoft, has been widely criticized on the basis that Microsoft overpaid. This is because previous to the acquisition, LinkedIn had lost more than half of its market value as a result of its slow growth. This study evaluates the post-acquisition performance of Microsoft, to determine whether the acquisition has benefited the shareholders of the acquiring firm (Microsoft). The study also contrasts the Microsoft and LinkedIn deal with other high-tech mergers and acquisitions M&As by scrutinising the return on equity ROE using a DuPont analysis, as well as comparing stock returns. Using the paired sample t-test the study revealed that the acquisition has not benefited Microsoft’s shareholders since profitability ratios and stock return plummeted post-acquisition, and hence the influence of the M&A on this was not found to be significant. Furthermore, the following ratios experienced a significant variation in mean values post-acquisition; for example, assets turnover, net working capital turnover, and fixed assets turnover decreased significantly, and leverage ratios jumped significantly due to financing the acquisition with indebtedness. Specifically, the price to research ratio soared significantly, advertising to sales, and selling and general expense to sales decreased significantly, implying that Microsoft experienced a significant cost reduction in post-acquisition period. In addition, Microsoft’s ROE exhibited a decline driven mainly by tax burden, TAT, and EBIT margin in a post-acquisition period. Ultimately no significant variation was observed between the mean value of Microsoft stock return prior and subsequent to the acquisition.
Keywords: Merger, acquisition, financial-ratio, analysis, Microsoft.
JEL Classification codes: M000, M400, G30, G34, C00, C10, C12
[Download Full Paper][Page 01-38]
===========================================================================
2) John Dewey: First Marietta Johnson Fan at Columbia University? Or Perhaps William H. Kilpatrick?
Three Petites histoires about Marietta L. Johnson.
Author’s Details: Jeroen Staring-Retired Dr Jeroen Staring taught mathematics at secondary schools in The Netherlands. His 2005 Medical Sciences dissertation describes the life, work and technique of F. Matthias Alexander. In 2013 he successfully defended a second dissertation, on the early history of the NYC Bureau of Educational Experiments.
Abstract:
This case study reviews literature that may fill gaps in the biography of Marietta L. Johnson (1864-1938) from 1913-1918: Was John Dewey the first Marietta Johnson fan at Columbia University, or was it William H. Kilpatrick? When did Marietta Johnson become principal of the Lanier School — The Little School in the Woods — in Greenwich, Connecticut? What exactly was Marietta Johnson doing in 1917 and the early months of 1918? This case study tells three stories that have not been analyzed before.
Key Words: Marjorie Merriweather (née Post) Close (= Mrs. Edward B. Close), later well-known as Marjorie Merriweather Post; Lydia J. (née Newcomb) Comings; Marietta Louise (née Pierce) Johnson; May (née Field) Lanier (= Mrs. Charles D. Lanier); Maria Montessori. John Dewey; William Heard Kilpatrick; Ernest Thompson Seton; Bernard Sexton. Boy Scouts of America. Bureau of Educational Experiments (BEE), New York City. Edgewood School, Greenwich, Connecticut (~ part of former Little School in the Woods, also known as Lanier Organic School, Lanier School, Lanier School in the Woods, or Organic Institution of Learning). School of Organic Education, Fairhope, Alabama. Wabanaki Woodcraft School, Wabanaki School, or Woodcraft School, Greenwich, Connecticut (~ part of former Little School in the Woods). Camp Fire Girls. Woodcraft Girls. Woodcraft Indians. Woodcraft League.
[Download Full Paper] [Page 39-77]
===========================================================================