The Last Chapter: The Facts about the Last Days of Grumman

by Jake Bussolini

"This book goes behind closed doors of both executive offices and the Corporate Board Room to disclose details about this corporate takeover that have never before been revealed. The book describes the tense events that lead to the decision to change the basic business strategy of the company. It also tells several political tales that help the reader understand how a major player in the defense industry can be brought to its knees by one signature from one highly placed Washington official.

Months of study and analysis lead Grumman and Northrop to the decision that a merger of equals was the desired path to survival. Unfortunately activities initiated by the companies investment banker, changed the history of events and changed a friendly merger into a hostile takeover.

This book describes all of the significant events before, during and after the acquisition that will serve as lessons learned to those that may, in the future, be involved in partnering activities."

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 6, 2014

Reviews

[Glynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend lent me this book. He said it would be a good read. I had my doubts because it seemed to be about mostly corporate executives and boardrooms and such, and I lived through a lot of the story contained in these pages.

At first I was bored. The first couple of chapters contained some tiny charts that were hard to read and the writing wasn’t excellent, but then things got very interesting. The writer’s style was entertaining and I found myself enjoying the book.

I learned a lot about the workings of big companies, the difference between a merger and a “hostile” takeover, and the pitfalls that can happen in the Aerospace industry. This book opened my eyes to another way of looking at the whole story of the last days of Grumman. I would like to have seen some notes and/or suggested further reading but that is only a small complaint.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the world of Aerospace. I especially recommend it to young executives in the Aerospace Industry today so that they may learn from the history and, as the author writes, avoid “making the same mistakes in the future.”

[William J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this over the Christmas break. For anyone interested in the aerospace industry, this is an interesting book. The author was at the heart of the Northrop Grumman merger or hostile takeover. As a California Northrop employee, I witnessed the combining of the two historic companies. As a Northrop Grumman employee transferred to a former Grumman facility in Florida, I am experiencing the cultural changes and and as I call it, the Californication of the New York state of mind.