The effects of mergers and acquisitions on investment returns: cases of Massmart and SABMiller

Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2017This study investigates the effects of M&A to investment returns in South Africa. The value of M&A executed in emerging economies (EM) is around $129 billion (The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2014) and this figure is projected to double in the next ten years bringing positive economic development in EM. In light of this perspective, there is renewed interest in understanding the economics of M&A in developing countries. Our aim was to assess the extent of mergers and acquisition on shareholder returns in South Africa using a case study approach. A case study approach was adopted in order to analyse the impact of specific events on shareholder value by date. Two prominent mergers involving acquiring companies from Developed Markets (DM) were selected namely AB Inbev (Belgium) and Walmart (US). As anticipated, the results show that each merger update announcement had an impact on the share price of the target based on the type of announcement. Positive news increased the share price and bad news adversely impacted the share price. Post the merger, Massmart’s headcount increased and profitability decreased. The same could not be measured for SABMiller as the company has been delisted.MT201