Pysunsmart Fire Protection Limited (PFPL) is a listed company on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). It is engaged in the manufacture of industrial fire extinguishers. The company has seen a steady growth over the past few

Pysunsmart Fire Protection Limited (PFPL) is a listed company on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). It is engaged in the manufacture of industrial fire extinguishers. The company has seen a steady growth over the past few years and has attained a robust market presence. The company's stock has been gaining attention due to company's strong pipeline of upcoming new products and expansion into new markets. As a result, the stock price of (PFPL) has been steadily rising. A and B have been close friends and business partners over years. Over time, they have started investing jointly in several listed company, including PFPL. C is a majority shareholder of a company "C holdings" and has also expressed his interest to purchase more shares in PFPL through C holdings and has been in talks with A, B, and Z about a potential joint acquisition strategy to gain control over the company. Z a prominent investor has been closely monitoring the performance of PFPL. He believes that PFPL is undervalued relative to its growth prospects. He has identified that if the company's product pipeline succeeds, it could increase the company's market capitalization significantly. He already holds 20% shares in PFPL and is interested in increasing his stake further. While all these shareholders have not made any formal agreements with each other but they have had multiple informal meetings where they discussed the possibility of working together. PFPL had conducted a buy back through an open offer in order to improve its earning per share (EPS) and boost stock prices. Due to this, the total number of shares of PFPL in circulation decreased and as a result the shareholding of one shareholder, Q, increased from 24% to 28%. PFPL is also considering proposals for merger with Sangam Limited, a manufacturer in same product. PFPL has attained a robust market presence in North India but operating at a much smaller scale in south. Merger with Sangam Limited will open the avenues to increase its market share in South too. The board of directors of PFPL have shown keen interest in doing premerger due diligence as they want to ensure the post-merger success. Though they have not received any red flag from any other department but HR head who is a part of premerger due diligence team has raised a concern. PFPL has a formal corporate culture, with a hierarchical structure whereas the employees of Sangam Limited are young and thrive in a culture that values innovation and informality. Sangam Limited operates in a flat structure where decision making is quick and decentralized. The HR Department of PFPL wants to draw attention to the problems that might come up regarding the cultural integration and human aspects of combining these companies who are having starkly different cultures. A meeting of Board of Directors has been called to discuss the matter. Based on the above facts, answer the following questions : (c) The acquiring companies often use cash deals or stock deals for acquisition. Differentiate between the two, enumerating the advantages of cash deals and stock deals. What are the considerations to be kept in mind while making a choice between the two ?