Could not agree more about buying a successful overseas business...

Could not agree more about buying a successful overseas business and Not changing it. You buy it because it has been successful. It is successful because of the existing culture. You aim to preserve and if possible enhance the culture and take the good bits home and use the learning elsewhere.

Some managers see for example the bonuses being paid and think "hey we can cut some fat here and make more money from this acquisition". Wrong. Bonuses have generally been earned by the people who have stuck around, understand the business and are invested and therefore rewarded. If the bonus system is good a larger range of employees are sharing rather than very few earning a lot.

All that being said in a business where people are the assets (as per WLL) it does not take a lot for it to go south. Key people get pissed off and set up in competition etc. This is the risk of this investment IMO.