Abstract:

Purpose: In this article we present the results of the study of the financial statements of the participants of the biggest M&A in the Russian industry. The aim of the research is to determine the declared reasons of the buyer to pay the price which exceeds the fair cost of the purchased company and to evaluate the degree of validity of buyer’s decisions about such overpayment. The main hypothesis of the study is that usually goodwill in the Russian industry is recognized because of the buyer’s expectations of the synergy effect from business combinations, which most likely will not be achieved later.