Type of merger and impact on operating performance: The Indian experience

Mergers and acquisitions are being increasingly used the world over as a strategy for achieving larger size, faster growth in market share and reach, and for becoming more competitive through economies of scale. This paper has attempted to study the impact of different types of mergers on the operating performance of acquiring/merging corporates in India in the post-economic reforms period of 1991-2003, by examining some pre- and post-merger financial ratios, in the sample of firms involving all mergers by public limited and traded companies in the period. The results suggest that there are minor variations in terms of the impact on operating performance following mergers of different kinds.