Merger and Acquisitions of Brazilian Companies: Operational and Managerial Synergisms and Profitability

Abstract

This paper aims evaluate if the merger & acquisitions (M&A) of Brazilian companies resulted in operational and managerial synergisms and in the increase of they profitability. We analyze quarterly data of 76 Brazilian companies from a sample of 72 processes of M&A occurred between January, 1996 and December, 2004. It is a quantitative research, in which was compared statistically the averages of ten variables via the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and the Rank Test, in a previous and in an ulterior period (two years), testing six theoretical hypotheses. The results had shown that the M&A studied: 1. lead to alterations (increases) statistically significant in the value of the companies’ assets; 2. resulted in operational and managerial synergisms; 3. did not reflect in the increase of the profitability of the companies studied, but apparently of the shareholders; 4.  the acquiring companies and the M&A occurred in the Period 2 (after January, 2000) presented a higher potential to generate operational and managerial synergisms and in the increase of profitability of involved companies. An explication to these results was that the possible increase of profitability was compensated by the increase of the companies’ total assets, equity and the debts to financier them.