BoS rules out hostile Abbey bid.

Finance staff at Abbey National and the Bank of Scotland were left in the dark this week as merger talks between the two banks hit difficulties.

Abbey National has publicly ruled out a hostile takeover bid for the Bank of Scotland, bowing to Scottish sensitivities to secure a friendly merger.

But BoS had said it seemed unlikely the approach would lead to a satisfactory transaction for shareholders.

The issues faced by the two banks are not unusual.

Two separate pieces in Accountancy Age this week highlight the difficulties of merging organisation. Oxford University associate fellow Nancy Hubbard writes that many corporate acquisitions are doomed from the start.

As in banking, merger fever is again sweeping the accountancy profession.

But in a separate article Accountancy Age looks at how not all matches of professional services firms are made in heaven.