Thoughts on Aswath Damodaran’s comments: “If you look at the collective evidence across acquisitions this is the most value-destructive action a company can take”? It’s hard to fully disagree with him, as by design the acquiring company is paying a “premium” over the agreed market price for its target. What would be the results if we compare the return on the average M&A transaction to the acquiring company vs. say, investing passively in the S&P 500 for the last 10 years?