| A Summary on Big Deal by Bruce Wasserstein |
| 09.26.08 | |
Bruce Wasserstein, CEO and Chairman of Lazard, unveils himself in a book entitled Big Deal. An 820-page tome that discusses the basics and the complexities of the financial and corporate world, Wasserstein presents a basic instruction manual on how to take over a company, make it grow, and sell it off again at a higher price.
Bruce Wasserstein’s Big Deal is separated into different takes on history, particular industries, and takeover strategies. It comprehensively discusses the five waves of corporate mergers that have started since the mid-1800s: the first one is about the creation of the business empires, which was ushered by the railroad system; the second wave that occurred during the 1920s when companies were crazed about the merger mania because of the skyrocketing stock market; the third one which happened during the “Go-Go” years of the 1960s when the concept of conglomerate was introduced; the fourth wave is typically the aggressive takeovers of the 1980s; and the fifth wave which is occurring right now in this digital age.
Bruce Wasserstein’s Big Deal also talks about famous dealmakers in the corporate scene and their work ethic and strategies: Barry Diller, Sumner Redstone, Carl Icahn, T. Boone Pickens, and Bernard Ebbers.
Read a review of Bruce Wasserstein’s Big Deal.
Read the interview with Bruce Wasserstein and the HBR.
