M&A as a mode of entry into the german market. The acquisition of Mannesmann by Vodafone

Seminar paper from the year 2015 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,7, University of Applied Sciences Essen, language: English, abstract: This term paper evaluates acquisition as a mode of entry used by Vodafone, regarding the variables that affected the entry mode decision when taking over the competitor Mannesmann. In particular, the analysis of the variables shall lead to a clear conclusion why an acquisition was used in this case in order to enter the target market. Another question that will be answered in this term paper is whether Vodafone entered the market efficiently, given the circumstances.

For this purpose, the term of market entry mode is defined first of all. Then, an overview of the different market entry modes is provided in order to highlight the differences between them. After that, the variables affecting the entry mode decision are named and explained. Then the takeover process of the business case is described in a chronological order. In the next part the variables influencing the decision to use an acquisition as a mode of entry within the example are analyzed in order to evaluate the bid Vodafone submitted. Then the bid made by Vodafone will be evaluated on a basis of the available economic data. As a result the key factors are summarized.

In the last two decades globalization has become one of the most important topics in the world of business. More and more companies try to escape their home markets and enter into international markets to expand their businesses. As a consequence the question of the choice of foreign market entry mode gets more important, because it is linked to the success of the activities of a company in a target market.

One of these companies seeking to escape the home market was Vodafone in 1999 when it started a hostile takeover in order to bid for its competitor Mannesmann. In the end this strategic move went down in history as the biggest M&A-transaction ever performed in terms of the transaction volume in the world of business. Later the question arose whether the deal was a good strategic move or an excessive and costly bid within the growth-strategy which Vodafone follows at all costs.