With South Korean companies stepping up their acquisitions in the U.S. and Europe, the English-language Korea Times has published a short article in which Hay Group consultant Israel Berman discusses how a few of
these deals are working out.
According to Berman, construction equipment giant
Doosan Infracore Co. Ltd.'s 2007 purchase of U.S. compact equipment maker Bobcat -- the biggest cross-border deal yet by a South Korean company-- is going well, partly because of a go-slow approach to integration. But he goes on to say he expects more integration of Bobcat, which Doosan bought from Ingersoll-Rand Co. for $4.9 billion, over the next couple of years.
With other foreign acquirers pursuing U.S. targets -- and sometimes facing a popular backlash, as in the case of
InBev SA's bid for Anheuser Busch Cos. -- it's interesting to take a look at reaction in North Dakota, where Bobcat is headquartered, to this deal. Some of the
comments posted here on the Bismarck Tribune site show an interest in Doosan's plan to sell Bobcat products all over the world.
- Kenneth Klee
Juergen Lasowski
And the winners are...
