Effect of Mergers and Acquisitions on Financial Performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya

Abstract

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) perform a vital role in corporate finance by enabling firms achieve varied objectives and financial strategies.In Kenya banks have been merging with the goal of improving their financial performance. Studies done on mergers and acquisitions have not conclusively established whether or not banks benefit from mergers. Therefore this study aims at establishing the effect of mergers and acquisitions on financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The study will be guided by the following objectives; to find out the effect of asset growth, shareholders value and synergy on the financial performance of merged banks in Kenya. The study adopted a causal research design. It adopted a census method which involved studying all the 6 merged banks from the year 2010 to 2017. The study used secondary data from published audited annual reports of commercial banks and banking supervision annual reports. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data at 5% significance level. The study found out that the mergers and acquisitions had a positive impact on shareholders’ value and assets of the merged or acquiring banks in Kenya.