The Promiscuous Marriage

The enigma of stock market performance has left investors and the general public alike in bewilderment. Anomalistic gains have been offset by a hoard of high-profile bankruptcies, and pundits still reiterate that the worst is yet to come. Although stimulus packages have been inducted to avert further disintegration, the phenomena of mergers and acquisitions has taken centre stage in an effort to revive fortunes of the global economic outlook. The theory of mergers and acquisitions has long been disputed since value addition is argued to be a delusional passage of thought rather than the positive realm. Forced mergers as a result of the ongoing hiatus are highlighted by the potential unification of automobile giants GM and Chrysler. Illuminated by the fact that a merge would enable them to effectively mobilise their capital in tandem with government aid, the prospect of this fusion appears more likely. However, there is a danger of issues arising concerning the monopolistic outcome of such an action. Moreover, their similar production base is becoming relatively obsolete in an era that is beginning to pride itself upon the preservation of greenery. There mass line manufacturing of SUVs and strategic semblance should generally be a reason to overrule any ideas of a merge. Evidently, tough times require tough measures, but a decision in favour of a corporate alliance between both companies can be termed as pedantic and promiscuous, if you will.

The ill-thought propositions of GM and Chrysler’s executive management are largely tied with the glooming prospect of facing illiquidity by 2010. GM has posted a loss of $18 billion, incurring expenses amounting to approximately $1 billion per month. Mathematically, this is a prevailing inequality; realistically, there appears to be no sigh of relief. By induction, this suggests that both firms will be facing internal problems in wake of the increasing pressure to reassure investors of their corporate viability. Chrysler has fared even worse this year, with sales falling a whooping 25%. However, as the saying goes, “two wrongs don’t make a right”; these companies are not exempt from this notion, and a merge may simply exacerbate their plight.

The euphoria of mergers and acquisitions has instilled a sense of negligence among the corporate world, and in times of crises we cannot rely on impulsion to mitigate the consequences of our own blunders. Careful and constructive planning in addition to extensive research is the cornerstone of overcoming the current turmoil. A reminder will not suffice for persuading GM and Chrysler to rethink their options as promiscuity is the epitome of human imperfection, and sinful attraction tends to prevail over constructive action. Our pursuit towards utopia has once again failed through our own hypocrisy, and as it stands we are about witness a marriage that is both lethal as it is meridian.