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Divest With Care

Harvard Business Review

Its corporate development group looked at upwards of 150 targets a year, and used a remarkably efficient screening process that rejected any potential acquisition that didn't make good sense strategically. The company did not overlook small deals if they contributed to the development of critical capabilities. Pfizer Inc.

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Star Wars, Disney, and the Fandom Menace

Harvard Business Review

The irony here is that the Star Wars franchise has been focused on licensing and new-platform development for years. It truly is incredible for any property to remain a top seller within licensed merchandise for such a long time," says Anita Frazier , industry analyst for NPD Group, which tracks licensing. Acquired in 2006 for $7.4

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Using M&A to Increase Your Capacity for Growth

Harvard Business Review

” He also refuted the typical “integration” approach and deliberately kept the two animation studios separate; leadership even developed a “do not change list” for Pixar to protect key parts of Pixar’s culture. Recombine to maximize exploration.

Film 8
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How the Internet Saved Handmade Goods

Harvard Business Review

Since achieving first-year sales of $175,000 in 2006, it has increased that number by four orders of magnitude: in 2013, Etsy sold $1.35 billion in merchandise. Etsy charges a 20-cent listing fee per item and takes a 3.5% cut of sales. A survey of its 5,500 U.S.-based For a fifth of them, selling through Etsy is a full-time job.

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How Software Is Helping Big Companies Dominate

Harvard Business Review

Even outside of the tech sector, the employment of more software developers is associated with a greater increase in industry concentration, and this relationship appears to be causal. Walmart went from a 3% share of the general merchandise retail market in 1982 to over 50% today. Most industries in the U.S. IT Does Matter.

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An Insider’s Account of the Yahoo-Alibaba Deal

Harvard Business Review

In May of 2005, Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, cofounder Jerry Yang, corporate development executive Toby Coppel, and I — I was then chief financial officer of the Silicon Valley internet company — went on what would turn out to be a fateful trip to China. At the end of 2006, eBay pulled out of the market. servers.