Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In January 2021, Alstom announced the completion of its acquisition of Bombardier Transportation (BT), a deal worth €5.5bn first announced a year earlier, just before the global COVID-19 outbreak. The success of Alstom's large-scale cross-border acquisition of BT is a remarkable demonstration of corporate resilience. This case study contributes to the literature by examining corporate resilience, in particular Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in the context of various risks and uncertainties such as macroeconomic and regulatory risks, as well as the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 crisis. In the face of these risks and uncertainties, Alstom managed to build resilience by successfully implementing a range of strategies and effectively leveraging key capabilities which enabled it to complete its acquisition of BT.