Ok, Deal. But which one of us will be the boss?

What would have been the biggest M&A deal in the emerging markets, the union between Bharti Airtel of India and MTN Group of South Africa, has fallen apart. The deal that was worth approximately $50 billion deteriorated after the management of both companies had already agreed to a MTN-led entity; Airtel surprised everyone by changing their minds and suggesting that they would purchase MTN instead - making MTN Group the subsidiary of the new-to-be company rather than vice versa.

One can't help but look at this and think of the continuing saga between Microsoft and Yahoo! Don't see the similarity? Think about it this way: are the decisions being made with the interests of shareholders in mind or with egos and personal ambitions as the priority? Exactly. As with the MS-Yahoo! deal, the stocks of both companies will be punished following this decision and the chairmen of both companies, like Mr. Yang, are likely to have a blow to their egos far greater than that that they were attempting to avoid.