In 2003 the value of M&A business in the US was worth $510,866.4. This is much less when compared to the value of merged and acquired businesses in 1998, amounting to $1.2 trillion. Though there are still a large number of companies worldwide that believe in the philosophy of "growing through acquiring", the percentage of failures in M&As has been pulling back quite a few. The decade of 1990s saw a spate of mergers and acquisitions in all the important sectors of business.

However, the success rate of these M&As is estimated to be a mere 30 - 40%. Companies announce that their mergers have been successful, but they also accept that they have not been able to derive the kind of benefits that they expected to, from a merger or an acquisition.

What can be the major reason for this failure (partial or complete) of mergers and acquisitions?