Rhone-Poulenc, France's largest chemical company, with revenues of more than $ 7 billion in 1985, seeks to expand its presence in the United States. From 1986 to 1990, Rhone-Poulenc takes 18 separate acquisitions, ranging from small entrepreneurial firms to large units of Union Carbide, Monsanto, and Stauffer Chemical. With these acquisitions, however, the French company is facing the challenges of integration of many disparate operations into a single American partner. The problem is complicated by differences in the nature of competition (global agrochemicals and domestic basic chemicals), the differences in respect of acquired employees, and the initial lack of confidence on the part of the acquiring firm. By the end of the event, Rhone-Poulenc management faces specific choices about the best way to combine several recent acquisitions in the field of specialty chemicals. "Hide
by Philip M. Rosenzweig Source: Harvard Business School 23 pages. Publication Date: September 28, 1993. Prod. #: 394040-PDF-ENG
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