Effect of Mergers and Acquisitions on Investee’S Market Share in Malawian Insurance Industry

Very often business acquisition is associated with the introduction of new products, new markets and increase in the market share of the investee probably as a result of the increase in the economies of scale. This is usually anticipated in view of the intense due diligence exercise which acquirer undertakes to justify investment in the target company and has to identify opportunities for growth and profit maximization. The expectations for improved results for the investee are even greater when the acquirer is an international firm which has standards for operating across the geographical spectrum. The results of this study have however shown meagre improvement in the market share, product development and market development of the Malawian insurance acquisition transactions which took place between 2009 and 2019. This is a strange phenomenon perhaps attributed to the low insurance penetration in Malawi which give maximum returns to the insurers even if the market share is low and have to utilise existing products with minimum risk