Goodwin Wealth Management: An Acquisition Opportunity

On November 30, 2007, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Goodwin Wealth Management (Goodwin), decided to hire a consultant to make an assessment of his current situation. Recently, several firms had expressed interest in acquiring Goodwin. The CEO knew he would have to decide whether to consider these offers or not very soon in order to avoid a hostile bidding situation. If the CEO did decide to consider an acquisition, he would have to act quickly in order to take advantage of the current stock's high price. Further complicating the decision was the fact that Goodwin had been built by the CEO's father, George, who would try to influence the decision-making process. The CEO wanted to do what was best for the company while protecting his family's reputation. He awaited the advice from the consultant.