Business Growth by Mergers and Acquisitions : A Qualitative Study of Business Strategies: The Case of Smile Tandvård

Sammanfattning: M&A is a strategy with a process that greatly revolves around achieving an approved merger, and subsequently being ready to act upon an approval. The strategy’s focuses are on the preparation and the analysis of the merger. A firm that is consistently up-to-date on the information available and on the status of the market, can prosper when opportunities reveal themselves. This paper studies business strategies from the point of view of what might bring growth to firms, based on theory and empirical evidence. Moreover, a case study is used of the firm Smile Tandvård, who actively uses M&A. The study is consisting of a research of the theoretical background, to enable links from several of these theories into the case study, as well as into the analysis. Additionally, was an interview conducted with the accounting manager of Smile Tandvård to get a clear insightinto the firm’s processes. The qualitative part showed the theories, the empirical evidence and the case study aligning in their characteristics, where I could pinpoint certain aspects of Smile Tandvård to the choices a firm has on a market, according to the theories. Moreover, showed the research there being plentiful ways in which you could examine the success of a merger or an acquisition. The direct result or direct returns not being the sole aim when deciding on M&A, and there were competitive advantages to gain. The quantitative test showed there being a correlation between business cycles and the amount of mergers and acquisitions.