Gods at War: Shotgun Takeovers, Government by Deal, and the Private Equity Implosion

Gods at War (paperback) is an engaging must read exploration of the modern takeover. This book examines this subject by drilling down on deals and events in the last few years that have forever changed the world of mergers and acquisitions. It will be a whirlwind tour of takeovers and the players in this arena, including private equity, strategic buyers, hedge funds, private equity, management, and sovereign wealth funds. Gods at War will not only explain all of the game-changing takeover events but also put them into context for readers who want to know whats going on behind the scenes on Wall Street. It will provide an explanation and analysis of these events and the players. The book will spell out the future direction of takeovers as well as the authors own prescriptions for needed reform. In telling this tale, Gods at War will cover the strategic issues that guide the modern-day takeover. But since takeovers unfold under the shadow of legal rules, Gods at War will particularly focus on the legal aspects of takeovers. The result will be a book that covers the strategy and rules of the takeover in the context of recent historical events. Each chapter of the book will unfold through the lens of a modern transaction. For example, the chapter concerning hostile transactions will trace the battle between Yahoo and Microsoft to discuss the future of hostile transactions as well as to examine the question of why the tech hostile has achieved recent prominence. The chapter on sovereign wealth funds will examine the slew of investment in financial institutions in the prior year and its implication for our economic system. A private equity chapter will study the United Rental/Cerberus dispute to explain the causes and effects of the private equity implosion and trace the future of private equity. And the chapter on hedge funds will discuss Jana Funds use of complex derivatives in its proxy contest to unseat the CNET board to illustrate the new shareholder activism among hedge funds and its discontents.