Be wary of growth by acquisition

Article Excerpt

Growth by acquisition is inherently riskier than internal growth, since it carries an above-average chance of unpleasant surprises. That’s because a buyer of something rarely knows as much about it as the seller. If you make enough acquisitions, you are bound to buy something with hidden problems. Eventually, those problems come out in the open and hurt the acquirer’s earnings. Of course, a series of small acquisitions from different sellers is safer than big acquisitions, because mistakes tend to be smaller. But when acquisitions go sour, the company has to write down the value of the purchase against its earnings. This can devastate its stock price. price…