The development and implementation of mergers and aquisitions strategy at internet solutions Kenya Ltd

Abstract

Mergers and acquisitions strategy is a growing phenomenon in Kenya today; this has been embraced by many financial and technical based firms as a strategy of choice. It is however still not a popular strategy as many firms seem to tread carefully and many take time to pursue the strategy. The objectives of this study were to generate new knowledge on the motive and challenges in the creation of mergers and acquisitions at Internet Solutions Kenya Limited. It establishes how valuable partnerships can be built through mergers and acquisitions as a competitive strategy in a dynamic industry such as the Internet Service Providers sector; in order to survive and maintain competitive top slots. Mergers and acquisitions in organizations are usually guided by the top management. Additionally, efforts to implement mergers and acquisitions in an organization are more likely to be successful if the top management understands the sequential phases required, organizational problems as well as the reasons why people accept or resist change. Though the integration process was successful according to the respondents, a lot of challenges were encountered but the transition team tried as much as they could to resolve them as soon as they became evident. Frequent communication to employees through meetings reduced anxiety, fear and confusion, and during these meetings, management collected feedback and were able to further address employee concerns. The research design appropriate for this study was a Case study as it allowed for in-depth exploration of issues such as current happenings/events at Internet solutions Kenya Limited in regards to mergers and acquisitions. This method also offered the opportunity to learn about the events through extensive descriptions and contextual analysis in line with the objectives of the study. The use of literature and interviewing individuals who could speak authoritatively on the subject was applied and data collected during the study was analyzed qualitatively. The research, though completed successfully was not without difficulties. Being a case study where Internet Solutions Kenya Limited was solely the unit of study, obtaining information was very difficult mainly because the respondents felt that some information was very confidential. This limited the scope of the study, and some respondents clearly pointed out they had not provided full information for confidentiality reasons.