Critique on Chapters 12 & 13 with reference to RBTT and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)

An acquisition is the act of purchase of one company by another. A merger occurs when two companies combine into a single business entity. Acquisitions and mergers have proven to be a significant and increasingly popular means for achieving corporate diversity and growth (Afsaneh and Ali, 1988). However, the effectiveness of the strategy depends upon extensive planning and careful implementation (Afsaneh and Ali, 1988). On June 16, 2008 Royal Bank of Canada announced its completed acquisition of the RBTT Financial Group (RBTT) for a purchase price of approximately TT$13.7 billion (US$2.2 billion). The acquisition is to bring about a greater market share for RBC by expanding its operations outside Canada spanning into the Caribbean. This historic transaction created one of the most expansive banking networks in the Caribbean, with a presence in 18 countries and territories across the region. With more than US$13.7 billion in assets, the combined operations will have 130 branches across the Caribbean, with 7,000 employees serving more than 1.6 million clients. This deal creates a significantly larger organization that is better positioned to serve all our customers, who will benefit from expanded market coverage, the increased lending capacity of the combined banks, and an expanded range of products. However, since the acquisition there have been numerous problems. Customers having access to their accounts via ATMs, longer waits in lines due to longer processing times and e-transactions not being completed in specific times due to glitches in the computing systems. Even up to last week some customers did not receive their salaries due to another problem with their new system. This has led to increased customer dissatisfaction which has fuelled the departure of some of its