Conclusion

The aim of this book is to provide a substantial contribution to previous economic literature. Previous books deeply analyzed the M&A phenomenon, especially in the US market, with regards to various aspects such as management, organizational structure, corporate finance, and taxation issues. However, this book proposed an independent assessment of the effect produced by M&A transactions on bank efficiency and shareholders’ value. M&A deals have usually been justified to increase the company efficiency and, finally, create shareholders’ value, but few studies have analyzed the overall result of M&A deals to support these motivations, especially in European banking. We firstly substantiated that our research aims were worthy by showing that: 1. M&A is an important phenomenon worldwide; for example, the volume of worldwide M&A announced during 2007 reached US$4.5 trillion in announced deals and US$3.8 trillion in completed deals. M&As concern all countries; for instance, in 2007, M&A deals increased by 21% in the US, 18% in Europe, and 61% in the Asian-Pacific; 2. M&A is particularly important in banking: most deals are in the financial industry and, especially in banking. For example, in 2007, M&As between financial institutions worldwide were more than 7000 for an overall value of more than USD 700 billion; 3. the M&A phenomenon is particularly exciting in European banking: in terms of number of transactions completed in 2005, the European financial institutions were involved as targets for 32% of transactions (EU-15 banks account for 27%) and as acquires for 31% of transactions (EU-15 banks account for 28%). In terms of value of the deals completed in 2005, the European financial institutions were involved as targets for 40% of transactions (EU-15 banks account for 36%) and as acquirers for 36% of transactions (EU-15 banks account for 32%).