MBA students have just completed a module in one of the favourite growth modes for Multinational Companies today - Mergers and Acquisitions. The course was organised and partially taught by Professor Maurice Saias, one of the most recognized professors in this field and described by The Financial Times as one of the 10 leading strategy gurus in Europe, Dr. Saias is a provocative, challenging, and entertaining educator

Professor of Strategy at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management (USA) and at the IAE Aix-en-Provence, professor Maurice Saias is renowned as one of the specialists of the Strategy of Multinational Companies and of Change Management. He is consultant for many large companies such as Alcatel, Philips, Kodak, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Honeywell, Allied Signal, Lafarge, Schneider and Rolls-Royce to name just few. He teaches in many top executive universities, and in-company training programmes in over 20 different countries in America, Europe and Asia. He has published several articles in the area of strategic decision making and implementation which has enabled him to also teach seminars in more than thirty countries in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Professor Saias' course at EDHEC covered many up-to-date topics such as the Fundamentals of Mergers and Acquisitions, Cross Border Acquisitions, Role of the Government Regulators in the European Union and to summarise simply, how to make a Merger or Acquisition successful in today's business world, covering the integration issues and the Legal environment.

Scott Catton, an American MBA candidate tells us about the module:

Professor Saias and the associate professors leverage their vast experience with Mergers and Acquisitions, and distill the subject down to its underlying components, clearly demonstrating there is no unique recipe for a successful merger. They provide key insight into the changes in the market worldwide in Mergers and Acquisitions activities, as well as an overview of some of the fundamental differences in philosophies of regulations and cultures. Professor Saias builds an engaging and stimulating classroom discussion, provoking thought and active participation!

Read more about mergers and acquisitions in a paper co-written by the Theseus EDHEC MBA director The Failure of Merger-Acquisitions, Myth or Reality?