Expansion of Business

Discussion
Good afternoon class,
This week I chose to research my company’s most recent acquisition. In April 2021, Rockland Trust Bank “inked a $1.15 billion deal to acquire smaller rival East Boston Savings Bank, a move that would expand South Shore-based Rockland’s presence in Boston’s northern suburbs in a big way” (Chesto, 2021, p. 1). As Chesto said, the goal of this acquisition was to expand the bank’s geographical footprint to the area north of Boston but also fortify our presence within Boston proper.
The acquisition created value for customers by expanding our services into a new market. As a result of the acquisition, customers enjoyed the convenience of more branches throughout eastern Massachusetts. The Boston Globe said at the in 2021, “Rockland’s branch network consists of about 100 locations, while East Boston Savings Bank has 42 full-service branches” (Chesto, 2021, p. 9). We also offered expanded services that were new to customers of East Boston Savings Bank such as credit cards, 1031 exchange, and an investment management group.
Overall, the merger was largely a success. One of the key strategies that helped us succeed in this was understanding the existing systems and processes in place at East Boston Savings Bank. Forbes suggests, “Do a deep dive on their operations. What do the employee files look like? Do they have operational procedures in place? Do the employees know these procedures and if so, do they follow them? Having current, fully vetted procedures and policies can save a lot of pain” (Rader, 2017, p. 10). Understanding their day-to-day operations allowed us to merge their customers into our systems over just one weekend. Without this understanding, the acquisition would not be as successful as customers would be without access to their accounts for more than necessary.
I am looking forward to hearing about everyone else’s acquisition analysis and if you agree that the one I highlighted was a successful one.
Best,
S.
References
Chesto, J. (2021, April 22). Rockland Trust Inks Billion-dollar deal to buy East Boston Savings Bank – The Boston Globe. BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/04/22/business/rockland-trust-inks-1b-deal-buy-east-boston-savings-bank/Links to an external site.
Rader, B. (2017, May 30). 7 ideas to make your merger or acquisition a success. Forbes. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bill-rader/2017/05/30/7-ideas-to-make-your-merger-or-acquisition-a-success/?sh=45e4b0f83720

Discussion reply 2
Good evening class,
Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare merged in 2013 to form what is now known as Baylor Scott & White Health. The goal of this merger was to partner with a like-minded hospital system, expand geographically, and connect Baylor’s physicians, hospitals, and services with the renowned Scott & White Health Care plan (Baylor Scott & White, 2013).
The customer value that was created was for healthcare plan members to have access to the Scott & White Health Plan at affordable plan costs. The benefit to Baylor was the addition of the renowned Scott & White Health care plan and the value for Scott & White was the addition of 30 hospitals in North Texas to their well-established 12 facilities in central Texas (Baylor Scott & White, 2013).
The M&A has been successful. Currently, Baylor Scott & White is the largest not-for-profit hospital system that now serves communities with 51 hospitals and 7300 physicians in the network for the BSW Health plan (Our Story, n.d.). I believe the key to this merger’s success was the relationships built between the leadership of the 2 hospital systems. Another key to success was communication from leadership. Kansal & Chandani (2014) mentioned that early communication is an imperative strategy to manage change during a merger. Our leaders communicated the company’s new mission and vision which was centered on the best in class patient care. I remember the commitment statement was an initiative that was rolled out at the beginning of the merger. Each employee was tasked to think of what they individually contribute to better patient care and write out their commitment statement. Nearly 10 years later, my commitment statement continues to live in the signature of my work email. This exemplifies how the leadership team created a patient-centric vision and spread it to the frontline. Buy-in from employees was a key element to the success of our hospital system.
Thank you,
J.

References
Baylor, Scott, & White Complete Merger; Combined Company Becomes Largest Not-forProfit Health System in Texas. (2013, September). https://news.bswhealth.com/en-US/releases/baylor-scott-white-complete-merger-combined-company-becomes-largest-not-for-profit-health-system-in-texas
Kansal, S., & Chandani, A. (2014). Effective Management of Change During Merger and Acquisition. Procedia Economics and Finance, 11, 208–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(14)00189-0
Our Story. (n.d.) BSWHealth.com. https://www.bswhealth.com/about#:~:text=As%20the%20largest%20not%2Dfor,System%20and%20Scott%20%26%20White%20Healthcare.

Discussion reply 3
Good evening,
In August 2009, the Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Inc. for $4.3 billion (Whitten, 2019, Para 28). This acquisition comes on the heels of a prior acquisition in 2006 when The Walt Disney Company acquired Pixar Animation Studios. Bob Iger, the former CEO of The Walt Disney Company, states the goal of the merger was to “add a unique portfolio of brands that provide significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation” (Disney to acquire Marvel Entertainment 2018, Para 4). The Walt Disney Company sought to acquire Marvel Studios for its innovation and creativity. The company saw a business opportunity to expand into a larger demographic, such as teenagers and adults (Reiss, 2012, Para 27-30). Disney purchased Marvel following the release of the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe when Iron Man debuted in 2008. Both companies were well branded before the acquisition regarding television, comic books, movies, and animation. One of the main points that Disney addressed is they wanted to ensure their customers of the value of the acquisition. Iger states, “We do not feel the need to acquire assets just to get bigger or simply to wade into new space. We are prepared to move wisely and quickly in order to respond to rapid changes in the marketplace” (Whitten, 2019, Para 13).
The merger has been a success as The Walt Disney Company with Marvel Studios has created a brand known worldwide and includes revenue channels that span toys, collectibles, artwork, television series, clothing, and movies. With the backing of over 5,000 characters provided by Marvel, Disney has created a movie franchise that continues to keep storytelling and imagination at its forefront. Since 2012, the first release of a Disney-produced Marvel movie, the company has earned more than $18.2 billion at the box office as of 2019 (Whitten, 2019, Para 6). The Walt Disney Company also utilizes its exclusive streaming service to provide direct-to-consumer material that helps increase sales. The merger/acquisition continues to prove successful as Marvel announces plans to continue its cinematic franchise for years to come. Disney attends to its customer focus by providing value that is consistently being created without any plans of slowing down (Kansal, S., & Chandani, A. 2014, page 217). Disney continues to bring in new customers and has a unique way of retaining its current customers. Since its origin, Marvel has continued to add to previous movies to create a story that drives customers back to the theater to see what will happen next.
The key to success was a smooth transition with a proper integration plan. The Walt Disney Company higher-ups took the top-to-bottom approach to ensure all stakeholders understood the plan and what was to be expected. As mentioned by Kansal, S., & Chandani, A. (2014, p. 213), the company must not look at short-term goals for the acquisition but for long-term growth.
Thank you,
D.

Disney to acquire Marvel Entertainment. The Walt Disney Company. (2018, April 30). Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-to-acquire-marvel-entertainment/Links to an external site.
Reiss, R. (2012, July 11). How marvel became a business superhero. Forbes. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/2010/02/01/peter-cuneo-marvel-leadership-managing-turnaround.html?sh=497c08fd6fa1Links to an external site.
Whitten, S. (2019, August 6). 14 years, 4 acquisitions, 1 Bob Iger: How Disney’s CEO revitalized an iconic American Brand. CNBC. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/bob-iger-forever-changed-disney-with-4-key-acquisitions.html