The DaimlerChrysler Merger: Why Didn't It Succeed?

DaimlerChrysler Merger: What untried strategies and policies might have better supported an ultimately unsuccessful merger between two large automakers?
Ann Bartel, Maria Guadalupe  | Spring 2008
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In 1998, Daimler-Benz A.G. and Chrysler Corporation joined forces in a “merger of equals.” Nine years later, the union was dissolved when Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm, took the struggling Chrysler division private. Daimler-Benz and Chrysler had expected to reap more than $1 billion in synergies by combining their companies; instead, its executives found themselves struggling to align clashing management styles, corporate cultures, and compensation policies. What actions could they have taken to better integrate the two companies?

Case ID: 080304
Supplemental Materials: Teaching Note

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