Asian Journal of Research in Business Economics and Management Asian Journal of Research in Business Economics and Management Vol. 7, No. 5, May 2017, pp. 360-367. ISSN 2249-7307 A Journal Indexed in Indian Citation Index DOI NUMBER: 10.5958/2249-7307.2017.00063.9 360 www.aijsh.com Asian Research Consortium Merger and Acquisition – The Play of Gain and Loss? Dr. Nikunj Patel*; Mitesh Patel** *Assistant Professor, Institute of Management, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, India. profnikunj@gmail.com **Assistant Professor, S.V. Institute of Management, Kadi Sarva Vishwavidyalaya, Gandhinagar, India patel4mitesh@gmail.com Abstract Banking Industry plays an important role in the economic development of India. For strengthening structure of banks, concept of merger and acquisition is adopted. This study is undertaken with an objective to check improvement in financial performance and stock return performance of banks after merger. This study is undertaken on 4 banks. This Study is undertaken by applying event study methodology. For IDBI Bank merger has improved financial performance where as for other banks merger remain somewhat beneficial. After merger, stock return performance has improved only for ICICI Bank. Reset of the banks have found loss in stock return after merger. Overall impact of merger and acquisition is mix, i.e. both positive and negative on Indian banking sector. It can be concluded that merger between the two banks is beneficial for Indian banks but it requires proper analysis before doing merger deal. Keywords: Merger, Financial Performance, Public sector banks, Private sector Banks, Profitability.