But some M&A deals burst with goodness: they demonstrate strategic intent, a fit, are reasonably valued, and are built with an after-thought for integration. The outcome was startling: large M&A deals tend to fail more often than succeed. highlighted the difficulties of achieving long-term shareholder returns by analyzing more than 15,000 M&A deals over a 10-year period. Value creation through M&A has long been plagued by lackluster returns.
