Empirical research shows that two thirds - some claim even four fifths - of all acquisitions fail. Bad acquisitions can spell disaster for a company, but if successful, they can lead to healthy growth, enhanced competitiveness and a world market position. Despite the vast More...amount of academic and practical research on M&A, there are still no adequate theories to explain this continued trend of failure. In fact, although success factors have been broadly researched and are well known, most work still concentrates on them without concomitantly touching upon the necessary governance structure which enables their effective deployment. This is crucial. In order to determine what constitutes an effective board and governance structure, extensive qualitative fieldwork was carried out through discussions with some of the most renowned international CEOs and Chairmen.