Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions: A Performance Evaluation of Indian Acquiring Companies

In the past few years, Indian companies have participated in the worldwide trend of consolidation through cross-border mergers and acquisitions. This research study analyses the impact of such cross-border mergers and acquisitions on the financial performance of Indian acquiring companies. It also analyses, by applying a 29-day event window, the impact of the announcement of such decision on the acquiring companies’ shareholders’ wealth. By evaluating a sample of 15 firms in India that have experienced cross-border mergers and acquisitions from 2005 to 2008, we find that there has been no significant change in the financial position of these companies in the post-merger period as compared with the pre-merger period. Finally, results of the event window reveal that the shareholders of acquirer firms have witnessed a meagre positive cumulative average abnormal return during the post-merger announcement period.