With acquisition activity running into the trillions of dollars, the acquisition alternative continues to be the favorite corporate growth strategy of this generation's executives. Unfortunately, creating shareholder value remains the most elusive outcome of these corporate strategies. After decades of research and billions of dollars paid in advisory fees, why do these major decisions continue to destroy value? Building on his groundbreaking research first cited in Business Week, Mark L. Sirower explains how companies often pay too much -- and predictably never realize the promises of increased performance and competitiveness -- in their quest to acquire other companies. Armed with extensive evidence, Sirower destroys the popular notion that the acquisition premium represents potential value. He provides the first formal and functional definition for synergy -- the specific increases in performance beyond those already expected for companies to achieve independently. Sirower's refreshing nuts-and-bolts analysis of the fundamentals behind acquisition performance cuts sharply through the existing folklore surrounding failed acquisitions, such as lack of "strategic fit" or corporate culture problems, and gives managers the tools to avoid predictable losses in acquisition decisions. Using several detailed examples of recent major acquisitions and through his masterful integration and extension of techniques from finance and business strategy, Sirower reveals: The unique business gamble that acquisitions represent The managerial challenges already embedded in current stock prices The competitive conditions that must be met and the organizational cornerstones that must be in place for any possibility of synergy The precise Required Performance Improvements (RPIs) implicitly embedded in acquisition premiums and the reasons why these RPIs normally dwarf realistic performance gains The seductiveness and danger of sophisticated valuation models so often used by advisers The Synergy Trap is the first exposé of its kind to prove that the tendency of managers to succumb to the "up the ante" philosophy in acquisitions often leads to disastrous ends for their shareholders. Sirower shows that companies must meticulously plan -- and account for huge uncertainties -- before deciding to enter the acquisition game. To date, Sirower's work is the most comprehensive and rigorous, yet practical, analysis of the drivers of acquisition performance. This definitive book will become required reading for managers, corporate directors, consultants, investors, bankers, and academics involved in the mergers and acquisitions arena.

马克・L・赛罗沃（Mark L.Sirower）博士是波士顿顾问公司企业战略专项顾问和纽约大学斯特恩商学院的客座教授。他经常在全球各地就如何通过并购创造价值这一主题发表演讲，并积极为大公司的并购决策出谋划策。

赛罗沃关于购并的研究在包括《商业周刊》、《财富》、《华尔街日报》、《纽约时报》、《哈佛商业评论》、《经济学家》、《金融时报》、《CFO》、《巴伦氏》等主要商业报刊上都发表过。他曾在像“财富500强CEO和CFO论坛”等重要商业场合发表重要演讲，也在国内电视和广播中频频出现。他在哥伦比亚大学商学研究生院获得博士学位，《协同效应的陷阱》即根据他在该校的一篇具有开创性的博士论文写成。他在沃顿商学院、哥伦比亚大学、纽约大学都拥有教席。