m&a

Feodora Chiosea via iStockPhoto In mergers and acquisitions (M&A), it’s easy to assume that information asymmetry is only about what’s in the financial statements, but it often spills over into areas like company culture, operations, and even employee motivation. For example, a startup might hide a serious research and development problem that’s about to derail its next product launch. A larger, more established company might downplay pending regulatory troubles that could lead to big fines. All these hidden realities can affect the price a buyer is willing to pay and the terms they insist on when closing the deal. Because…