Manufacturing Magazine April 2018 | Page 21

these companies have made themselves even more attractive from an M & A perspective .
Finding such companies can be challenging , but manufacturing investors have two vital acquisition criteria . First , they ’ re looking for businesses of scale — of which there are few within the technology area . Second , they ’ re looking for targets whose technology is proven to drive commercial sales . Businesses have been willing to pay a premium to acquire companies that meet these criteria . The M & A process is not without its pitfalls . The constant evolution of the industry means that joining two companies together can be problematic . Today , very few businesses are simple . Complexity can delay or even derail M & A deals , especially given the overwhelming background of change in the manufacturing models .
Larger companies , by their very design , cannot react as quickly as smaller organisations ; these nimble tech firms are not only able
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