Success Of Mergers And Acquisitions In The Insurance Industry What Can We Learn From Previous Empirical Research

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2014 in the subject Business economics - Banking, Stock Exchanges, Insurance, Accounting, grade: 1,3, University of Cologne (Seminar für Allg. BWL, Risikomanagement und Versicherungslehre), language: English, abstract: Since the 20th century, the insurance industry has experienced an unprecedented wave of M&A. However, in spite of the drastic increase in insurance M&A activity, there has been little consistent empirical evidence on the value enhancement of these deals. Hence, many open questions still exist in this research area. The most fundamental questions are whether insurance M&A actually create value and what determinants influence the success of these undertakings. This thesis attempts to find answers to these questions by first examining the status quo of academic literature published in this field of research and bringing together the empirical findings on the success of insurance M&A and its influencing factors. Overall, the literature review outlines that insurance M&A on average tend to create value for shareholders of the target firms as well as for the combined entity of acquirer and target. Moreover, shareholders of acquiring US insurance firms, on average, also benefit from these corporate undertakings. However, negative short-term as well as long-term wealth effects for acquiring insurers’ shareholders are the common finding in capital market studies analyzing the effects of M&A transactions in the European insurance industry. Secondly, the reliability and validity of the findings of previous research are tested in an own empirical analysis which uses a fairly new approach to evaluating the success of M&A by using the idea of stochastic dominance (SD). More precisely, using a sample of 102 transactions conducted by publicly traded Western European insurance firms between the years 1993 and 2009, this work analyzes whether investors in acquiring insurance firms benefit from M&A by comparing return distributions of acquiring firm portfolios with benchmark portfolios using the first two orders of SD. The results show that insurance M&A trigger a negative short-term capital market reaction for acquiring European insurance firms. However, this short-term underperformance diminishes over time, and over a longer period of time of up to three years after M&A announcement, there is no underperformance of acquiring European insurers. In conclusion, based on the accumulated evidence from past empirical studies as well as the empirical investigation of this thesis, it can be concluded that M&A, not only in the US insurance market but also in the European insurance market, seem to be a viable model and are likely to lead to success for all parties involved.

Andreas Schertzinger identifies determinants of successful transactions, such as transaction timing and diversifying transaction strategy, through a multivariate statistical analysis. Two case studies illustrate success factors specifically related to the conduct of transactions in greater detail.

Mergers and acquisitions represent prominent phenomenon of the developed capitalist world. Growth of the company through mergers and acquisitions provides access to new markets and resources, and the success or failure is of great importance not only for the companies involved in these transactions, but also for all subjects as well as for the overall economy. Given the fact that the results of a large number of studies suggest that the failure rate of M&A is high, the main objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of industry structure on the success of mergers and acquisitions. The empirical research was conducted on the sample of Croatian companies from non-financial sector that were taken over in the period 1998-2006. The following hypothesis was tested and confirmed: the lower the concentration ratio of the target company's industry, the more successful is the target company's performance after the takeover.

In 1999, MCI WorldComm and Sprint agreed to merge. Valued at $129 billion, this expected transaction was the largest in history. However, it fell victim to regulators in Europe concerned with the potential monopoly power of the merged firm. This M&A action was merely the latest in a growing trend of "blockbuster" mergers over the past several years. Once a phenomenon seen primarily in the United States, mergers and acquisitions are increasingly being pursued across national boundaries. In short, acquisition strategies are among the most important corporate-level strategies in the new millennium. The need for clear, complete, and up-to-date guide to successful mergers and acquisitions had never been greater. This book more than fills that need. Looking at successful--and unsuccessful--mergers and acquisitions in a number of different industries, Mergers and Acquisitions: A Guide to Creating Value explains how to conduct an acquisition and how to avoid pitfalls that have doomed many such ventures. The authors take the reader step-by-step through the process, starting with the elements of a successful merger, due diligence to ensure that the target firm is sound and fits well with the acquiring firm, and how mergers and acquisitions are financed. They move on to explore how firms find partners/targets for acquisitions that have complementary resources and how to find partners with which integration and synergy can be achieved. Finally, they discuss the potential hazards found in M&A's and how to avoid them, how to conduct successful cross-border acquisitions, and how to ensure that ethical principles aren't breached during the process. Based on 15 years of research, this essential guide goes beyond specific case studies to cover all aspects of these ventures, making it required reading for all managers seeking to build a successful strategy.

This book provides scholars and practitioners in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) with a solid foundation for further research. M&As continue to shape the economic landscape across the globe. While there is already a huge body of scholarly work on the subject, findings appear contradictory and academics and practitioners often struggle to understand what factors make M&As successful. Due to the lack of an agreed-upon definition, research findings appear contradictory, while in fact they are often simply not comparable. To address this, the book rethinks how we measure key umbrella constructs. It specifically focuses on the conceptualization phase of the measurement process, often taken for granted in the current research.

This book reviews both successful and unsuccessful mergers andacquisitions, exploring the reasons why so many fail to live up toexpectations. An exploration of why mergers and acquisitions succeed or fail,based on rigorous scholarly research. Stretches the boundaries of what we know about these complexphenomena. Presents original ideas about the merger and acquisitionstrategy, the effects of mergers and acquisitions on performance,and the critical processes involved in implementation andintegration. Explores new areas, such as the role of culture and leadership,and the importance of knowledge transfer and learning. Includes contributions from both highly respected scholars andup-and-coming stars in the field.

Although the economic motivation and efficiency effects of mergers and acquisitions (M & As) in the insurance industry have been discussed, none of the prior studies have addressed the relationship between M & A activity and insurance price change. In addition, little is known about the effect of diversification on the differences in insurance price across lines. The main objective of the dissertation is to provide evidence on these issues. A secondary objective is to investigate the relationship between M & A activity and insurer's efficiency and financial performance. We also examine various firm characteristics that affect insurance price differences across lines and that influence insurer's efficiency and performance. We conduct fixed effects model regressions to test our hypotheses using unbalanced panel data over the sample period 1989-2004. The empirical tests indicate that the price of insurance for newly formed insurers decreases following the M & As and diversified insurers charge lower prices than less diversified firms. Our result is consistent with one possible explanation that acquiring insurers reduce overall underwriting risks and more efficiently manage the frictional costs of capital through geographic and/or product line diversification by engaging in the M & As and therefore gain a competitive advantage in pricing. Our analysis also reveals a number of other interesting results. We find that insurance price is positively related to marginal capital allocation and inversely related to firm insolvency put value, suggesting the importance of incorporating insolvency risk and marginal capital costs in pricing lines of insurance business. We also find that the price of insurance is inversely related to cost efficiency, consistent with the efficiency structure hypothesis. However, the market share variable is not significant, implying that market power that can arise from M & A activity may not be a big concern for insurance regulators. In the analysis of efficiency and financial performance, we provide evidence that acquirers' overall cost and revenue efficiency and financial performances decrease following M & As. We also find that more focused insurers outperform the diversified insurers.

Global in scope and written by leading scholars in the field, the Research Handbook on Mergers and Acquisitions is a modern-day survey of the state of M&A. Its chapters explore the history of mergers and acquisitions and also consider the theory behind the structure of modern transaction documentation. The book also address other key M&A issues, such as takeover defenses; judges and practitioners' perspectives on litigation; the appraisal remedy and other aspects of Federal and state law, as well as M&A considerations in the structure of start-ups. This Handbook will be an invaluable resource for scholars, practitioners, judges and legislators.

Make your next merger or acquisition one for the ages Meant to create value potentially fueled by synergies, the reality is that most mergers and acquisitions fail. It’s estimated that 83% of mergers and acquisitions do not hit their desired results. The Merger & Acquisition Leader’s Playbook tells you why most mergers fail. More importantly, it tells you how to make your next one a sweeping success. In the book, a team of private equity experts deliver a masterful walkthrough of how to integrate organizations by driving commercial success, instead of focusing purely on cutting costs. Readers will find: Concrete strategies for increasing the odds of success and reducing the risk of failure – of a new merger or acquisition A comprehensive, easily deployed and implemented plan to realize synergies Proven tools, techniques, and tricks of the trade to help leaders stay on top of their latest merger and keep everything on track A must-read resource for business leaders considering a fresh merger or acquisition, The Merger & Acquisition Leader's Playbook: A Practical Guide to Integrating Organizations, Executing Strategy, and Driving New Growth after M&A or Private Equity Deals will also earn a place in the libraries of investors, agents, corporate service providers, and consultants trying to get two or more businesses to pull in the same direction.

Will the early years of the new century continue to witness the huge growth in merger and acquisition activity which marked the end of the last? The chances are that they will - witness the value of deals carried out by the top five investment banks in the first quarter of 2001 alone ($456.2 billion). The quest for the golden fleece is alive and well. Will the majority of M&As continue to fail to achieve their potential value? This book is about breaking out of the cycle of grand strategy, great prospects, poor implementation, lost opportunities. The authors believe that it is possible for M&As to realise their value - and more. Bringing home the golden fleece involves more than just setting sail in quest for riches. It's about understanding the destination/end game, and working out the most appropriate route. This book has been written with the practitioner in mind, with the thirteen chapters split into three sections. The first section provides an overview of the merger process and outlining the key elements of success. Section Two focuses on the nuts & bolts of managing the integration process - from transition to full integration. Illustrated by a detailed case study of Articon Integralis AG, the leading supplier of IT Security Solutions and Services in Europe. The final section looks at the themes that can make or break mergers - creating the culture of the new organisation, communications, retention and the roles of line managers and HR. Each section is supported by checklists that should be helpful whether you are a novice at the merger game or an expert.