EXPROPRIATION EXPERIENCE OF AMERICAN COMPANIES - WHAT HAPPENED TO 38 COMPANIES

Expropriation is a bitter, yet popularly ignored, experience. It is not a new or rare development. American companies lost tween 1917 and 1920, and there have been over $175 million in the Soviet Union be-five major expropriations (amounting to an estimated total loss of $2,157 million) since then. To gain information about such seizures, Professor Root conducted a survey of executives of thirty-eight companies that had experienced foreign takeovers. Their replies concerning such considerations as the amount of warning given prior to expropriation, management response to the warning, compensation by the host government, and post-expropriation responses of management provide interesting insights into this problem. Dr. Root further warns that international executives should carefully appraise the risk of expropriation before committing their resources to a foreign country. © 1968.