Mergers and Acquisitions - Dissertation Example

The aim of the study is to reveal the impact of merger and acquisition on the performance of companies in UK which will be achieved by analysing the financial performance of sample companies involved before and after M&A. The study will analyse the financial statements of randomly selected companies before and after merger so as to reveal the true impact from such merger or acquisition. The study begins with an introduction and initial discussion of background followed by a detailed literature review.

The research methodology is designed so as to facilitate analysis of secondary data collected from reliable online sources. The findings section discusses the research findings which is then analysed so as to critically analyse the research findings with research objectives and to what extent does the findings answer research questions. After the interpretation of findings, the research finally ends with conclusion and recommendations. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Chapter 1: Introduction 6 1.1. History and Background of the Research 7 1.2. Objectives of the Research 8 1.3. Aims of Research 9 1.4. Research Problem and Research Questions 9 Chapter 2: Literature Review 10 2.1. Types of Mergers 11 2.2. Motives for mergers 12 2.3. Empirical Studies 16 2.3.1.

Event Studies 16 2.3.2. Accounting Studies 16 2.3.3. Clinical Studies 17 2.3.4. Executive Surveys 17 Chapter 3: Research Methodology 17 3.1. Research Problem 18 3.2. Primary Research 19 3.3. Secondary Research 19 3.4. Data Collection 20 3.4.1. Primary Data Collection 21 3.4.2. Secondary Data Collection 22 3.4.3. Justification of Secondary Data Collection 22 3.5. Sampling and Sample Size 23 3.6. Data Analysis 23 Chapter 4: Findings of the Research 24 4.1. Overview 24 4.2. Financial Statement Analysis of Companies BEFORE Merger and Acquisition 25 4.2.1.

Performance Analysis of Acquirer Company - Barclay Plc (Before M&A) 25 4.2.2. Performance Analysis of Acquired Company - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (Before M&A) 30 4.3. Financial Statement Analysis of Companies AFTER Merger and Acquisition 35 4.4. Results of Findings 40 Chapter 5: Analysis of Findings 42 5.1. Brief Overview of Findings 42 5.2. Reasons for Merger 43 5.3. Consequences of M&A 45 Chapter 6: Conclusion 46 Chapter 7: Recommendations 48 References 53 Appendices 57 Table 1 – Financial Statements of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

(Before Merger) 57 Table 2 – Financial Statements of Barclays Plc (Before Merger) 58 Table 3 – Financial Statements after Merger and Acquisition 59 Chapter 1: Introduction In today’s world the primary objective of a firm is to survive the cut-throat competition and one way to do that is to make more profits and add value to shareholders’ wealth. The ladder of success for any firm is ‘growth’ which can be achieved either by expanding existing resources or introduction of new products and services.

Another way of achieving growth is through merger and acquisition (M&A). The former is also known is organic growth where the firm uses its own resources (retained earnings, reserves and surplus, or equity capital) for financing growth. The later is also known as inorganic growth where the acquirer firm buys the assets and liabilities of the target(s) as on a given date (Sherman, 2010, p.1). Thus, M&A are external growth strategy that gains popularity mainly