Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on Earnings and Net Assets per Share Indices of Companies in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of mergers and acquisitions on earnings and net asset per share of companies in Nigeria. Data used for the study were collected from published consolidated financial statements of four of the companies that combined between 1984 and 2004 with one or two of the companies listed on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (excluding banks). Since the companies merged at different dates, care was taken to ensure collection of data for a total period of 20 years, 10 years before and 10 years after each combination. Data were analyzed using regression and t-test statistic. The study reveals that while mergers and acquisitions had significant impact on earning per share in 25 percent of the four companies, they produced a similar effect on net assets per share in 50% of the companies investigated.  The paper concludes that mergers and acquisitions had significant impact on earnings and net assets per share indices of a cross section of Nigerian companies.  It recommends that stakeholders could employ mergers and acquisitions to enhance capital accumulation and growth of investment in Nigeria.

Keywords:  Mergers and acquisitions, earnings per share, net assets per share, micro-investors, macro-investors, Nigeria.