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Essay on Lincoln Electric Analysis

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Lincoln Electric-Analysis
Submitted by: Rahul Agarwal
1. Put yourself in CEO John Stropki's shoes. Should Lincoln Electric expand into India by investing in a major production facility there?
Ans. An Indian expansion through an investment in the major production facility is the most logical step for Lincoln Electric in pursuance of its long term strategic goals. The company needs to be free from its dependence on North American sales; the sales in the North American markets are stagnant whereas other markets especially the Asian markets are growing significantly faster. Its long term financial targets which include sales growth double the rate of growth in worldwide industrial production, operating margins over 15%, earnings …show more content…

Ans. Lincoln has not been very successful in making successful and profitable acquisitions outside of North America, especially when the company has tried to enter a market strictly through the acquisition route. Inexperience of Lincoln’s executives with trade-unions and lack of knowledge of labor practices and laws in other countries proved major stumbling blocks in the effort to integrate the new acquisitions into Lincoln’s distinctive management culture. Local managers and employees are not convinced that these practices are appropriate for their local environment. As a result the Lincoln has realized that it would rely more on joint ventures and strategic alliances rather than an acquisition. In consonance with its investment philosophy Lincoln would only go forward with an acquisition only if it is immediately accretive, the investment had a minimum internal rate of return of 10%, increasing it to over 18% in 3-4 years also the acquisition should be done at less than 8XEBITDA. Since India is a booming market, Lincoln would not be able to achieve its initial investment goals, any acquisition would require paying up a premium. One of the target companies is already owned by the competitor and other local target had a company of family ownership and dispersed ownership structure.
Expansion in India through a Greenfield project is also not a viable option since it is expected that Lincoln will face the same problems which it had faced when it tried to

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