Please read the case below and:

List the issues that you feel those leading the acquisition will have to attend to if it is to be implemented successfully. Provide reasoning and evidence for your answers. Provide any changes that you would make to your recommendations as separate comments after you have read the chapter. If there are no changes, a brief statement to that effect will suffice.

Case Study 25.1 Key Chemicals

KeyChemicals (as it will be referred to here) is a Swiss company. After a 30-year period of steady growth, based on the acquisition of other businesses, the original Vevey-based distributer of chemicals to the food processing industry was transformed into a distributor of a wide range of specialist chemicals operating across most of Europe. After spending four years integrating past acquisitions, reducing costs and increasing margins, the CEO recognized that the company was ready to embark on a new phase of growth and persuaded the board of directors to resume the companys previous strategy of acquiring existing businesses. After reviewing the companys strengths and weaknesses and the possibilities for generating more shareholder value, the board decided to search for acquisition targets that would add value by providing access to new markets. The CEO worked with the marketing and finance directors to identify possible acquisition targets that could help KeyChemicals achieve this strategic goal. They enlisted a merchant banker to help them develop a search strategy, which they quickly implemented. Within a few weeks, they identified a short list of three acquisition targets and presented their findings to the rest of the board. The three were whittled down to one, Eco-Pure, a family-owned company that dominated the water treatment chemicals market in Denmark. The company was attractive because a strategic analysis indicated that the only cost-effective way for a new competitor to break into this market would be to acquire Eco-Pure. The owners were approached and indicated a willingness to consider the possibility of selling the company, so KeyChemicals embarked on a more detailed examination of Eco-Pure to ascertain whether the acquisition would add value and how much they should pay to acquire the company.