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Lessons Learned from Failed Mergers Buying or selling a company? Learn how to avoid the most common mistakes in these business transactions.

By Christopher Hann

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Eyes wide open: Fentress Seagroves' M&A strategy.
Photo© Natalie Brasington

Q: Roughly two in three mergers and acquisitions don't succeed. What lessons can businesses learn from what went wrong?

A: Many botched transactions can be traced to something your mother used to tell you: Study harder. Companies that don't thoroughly assess all sides of an acquisition--pre- and post-close--increase their chances of becoming one of those failures.