If a merger or acquisition fails, it can be catastrophic, resulting in mass layoffs, a negative impact on a brand’s reputation, a decrease in brand loyalty, lost revenue, increased costs, and sometimes the permanent closure of a business. In extreme cases the acquiring company usually ends up selling the target company for a much lower price than what it paid for it. In the case of failed mergers, the company may break into different subsidiaries that then get sold, as happened to Citigroup after the Citicorp and Travelers merger.