I ran across this and thought some folks on Pen-L might know or want to know more about it. ================================= Strategy Report Assesses Performance of Companies Pursuing Restructuring or Diversification 10:34 a.m. Nov 18, 1997 Eastern LONDON, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Clarus Research today announced the release of the latest issue of Strategy Report, the global review of corporate strategy. According to Michael Pearson of Clarus Research, "Strategy Report is a unique publication providing a structured framework for managers and investors to follow the success or failure of various corporate strategies in an efficient and focused manner. The research reported in this issue of Strategy Report shows that recent restructuring and focus actions are in general creating shareholder values, whereas most companies are struggling to make diversification pay in their quest for growth." A key feature of Strategy Report is a synopsis of important strategic developments at companies from around the world in the previous 2 month period, providing a perspective on corporate strategy not available from other sources. The reaction of investors to major strategic announcements is also summarized. Interesting cases reviewed in more depth in this issue include Sara Lee's de-verticalization to boost growth and return on capital, Royal Dutch/Shell's global restructuring actions to exploit economies of scale, and Travelers' diversification and cross-selling based growth strategy, the latest element of which was the acquisition of investment bank Salomon. Strategy Report also monitors trends in mergers and acquisitions activity in pursuit of corporate strategies like globalization, diversification and consolidation, with comparisons across industry sectors and geographic regions. Globalization acquisitions were a particular feature of the latest period reviewed, with European companies continuing to be considerably more active than companies from North America. According to Pearson, "many of these global acquisitions are not fully integrated and it is clear that the reality of globalization falls some way behind the rhetoric at most companies. However, the recent restructuring actions of Shell and Citicorp are signs that some leaders are moving to the next stage of integration." Clarus Research is a specialist independent strategy research company producing publications and databases for managers with a responsibility for business strategy, their advisers, and investors. "Our objective is to develop a better understanding of successful and unsuccessful strategies. To achieve this we have created a unique and powerful strategy performance database which provides the basis for the analysis incorporated in Strategy Report," commented Pearson. SOURCE Clarus Research Copyright 1997, PR Newswire
