Why Most M&A Deals End Up Badly BlackRock's acquisition of Barclays Global Advisors for $13.5 billion has left bankers hoping that the slowdown in mergers and acquisitions has now hit a bottom and their bonuses can start going back up again Advisers like Boston Consulting Group are arguing that now is the time, and companies must move quickly to make acquisitions at rock-bottom valuations. But despite low prices and the adage that companies always must invest during a downturn, now may not be the time to consider M&A, as opposed to alternatives like investing in organic growth My firm, the China Market Research Group, has analyzed hundreds of M&A deals announced over the past two decades, and we've found that the shareholders would have been better off in about 70% of the cases if they'd never set off on the path toward M&As