Development of an analytical framework for evaluating acquisition targets in the water and pumping solutions industry
This thesis develops and preliminarily validates an analytical framework for the evaluation of potential acquisition targets in the water industry and pumping solutions. The work starts from the observation that, although inorganic growth is a strategic lever in the sector, its success rate remains...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis de maestría |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/443973 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/443973 |
| Access Level: | acceso embargado |
| Palabra clave: | Consolidation and merger of corporations Water-supply, Industrial Pumping machinery Empreses -- Fusió Aigua -- Abastament industrial Maquinària de bombament Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Economia i organització d'empreses |
| Sumario: | This thesis develops and preliminarily validates an analytical framework for the evaluation of potential acquisition targets in the water industry and pumping solutions. The work starts from the observation that, although inorganic growth is a strategic lever in the sector, its success rate remains limited due to the lack of structured methodologies that rigorously assess strategic fit and integration potential. The objective is to provide the organization with a practical, repeatable, and adaptable tool to support decision-making in the early stages of the M&A process. Rather than designing a model from scratch, the framework consolidates and improves the existing approach, ensuring its applicability across different contexts within the water sector. Methodologically, a comparison of multi-criteria techniques led to the adoption of the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP),chosen forits balance between structure, traceability, and usability in a corporate environment. The framework organizes criteria into three groups, strategic, financial, and operational and establishes a weighting and scoring process with consistency checks, designed for implementation in spreadsheets or lightweight tools. The construction of the model combines literature review, mapping of internal practices, and expert validation (strategic documentation, semi-structured interviews, and public data). It is further subjected to a proof of concept on a real case under confidentiality. The application to the Krusty Water case classified the company as a “strong candidate” according to the defined thresholds, aligning with the strategic decision ultimately taken by the firm (acquisition in June 2025). This result suggests that the framework enhances transparency, comparability, and internal consistency in early-stage target prioritization. Limitations are acknowledged, including reliance on expert judgment, the small scale of validation, the restricted availability of data in early phases, and the deliberately non-exhaustive scope (it does not replace due diligence). Overall, the contribution is a structured, transparent, and scalable instrument for screening and prioritization of acquisition target sin the water sector, with direc timplications for M&A practice and a foundation for future research. |
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