Product details

After acquiring Greyhound US, Laidlaw, Inc became the principal provider of intercity transit in North America. Nine months later, the board of Laidlaw asked its chief executice officer (CEO) to resign, citing performance problems and the need to divest certain operations to strengthen its balance sheet. Laidlaw''s attempts to enter and to consolidate selected transportation service industries are examined. Something has gone terribly wrong and the search for the reasons pushes back to fundamental issues associated with growth by acquisition and the corporate management of (arguably) diverse businesses. This sets up a discussion of whether the CEO''s strategy was reasonable or fundamentally flawed; whether something could have been done earlier by the CEO or the board, and if so, why action wasn''t taken; and finally, the prospects for Laidlaw as they look ahead.