Why M&A deals are bad for shareholders (CNNMoney.com)

The process starts with identifying key employees early - preferably within the first 30 days of the transaction's announcement - and moving quickly to retain them and find roles that keep them motivated. Sounds obvious enough, but in a Bain survey of 40 recent deals, barely half of the acquirers bothered.

Acquirers are also paying more attention to what makes entrepreneurs tick. They've learned, for example, that plugging company founders into middle-management jobs is a retention strategy doomed to failure - but giving them their own division to run often works.