Publications
Publications
- December 1997
- HBS Case Collection
American Cyanamid (A) & (B) (Combined)
Abstract
American Home Products' (AHP) $9 billion hostile takeover of American Cyanamid (Cyanamid) was the largest merger-and-acquistion transaction in 1994, and made AHP the fourth largest pharmaceutical firm in the United States. At the time of AHP's offer, Cyanamid had already begun to restructure by selling its consumer products businesses, spinning off its chemicals division, and entering into asset swap negotiations with SmithKline Beecham. AHP entered the fray, at least in part, to block the asset swap deal. The case takes students inside the board room and describes the tension generated by the different views of Cyanamid management and its outside directors on the desirability of the takeover. After a tense and painful board meeting that lasted several days, the board voted unanimously to support the offer. A rewritten version of two earlier cases.
Keywords
Governing and Advisory Boards; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Conflict and Resolution; Pharmaceutical Industry
Citation
Wruck, Karen, and Sherry P. Roper. "American Cyanamid (A) & (B) (Combined)." Harvard Business School Case 898-120, December 1997.