GARETTE, Bernard <br/><br/>
Alliances versus acquisitions :  choosing the right option 

 -  2000 
<br/><br/> Recently, a wave of corporate acquisitions has swept across Europe, prompted by liberalisations and unification in the European Union. The authors ask the question: Has this made the traditional preference by European  firms for alliances and co-operative strategies obsolete? Bearing mind that, in global terms, alliances are popular, another question is: Should  European firms use their experiences in alliances to develop new alliance strategies as an alternative to joining the tred to acquisitions? After a review of the european model of alliances, the authors discuss the pros and cons and rationale for horizontal acquisitions and scale a]liances, and argue in favour of more agressive complementary alliances combined with mergers and acqusitions to expand in Europe as well as globally