The Impact of M&A Announcements on the Value of Companies

This study discusses the motives of Mergers &Acquisitions (M&As) and examines the impact of M&A announcements on the returns of both acquiring and target companies. The sample of announcements occur during the 1990s wave until recent years involving UK acquirers domestic and cross border target companies. The study investigates the impact of M&A announcements by classifying the acquiring and target companies based on nationality and the relationship between industry sectors. The results show that overall takeover announcements have significantly positive effect on the returns of target companies during the short event window regardless the type of the M&A. However the announcements impact to the acquirers’ returns is insignificant indicating negative trend especially after the announcement date.