No. The goal of M&A is to increase shareholder value, if the data said acquisitions generally do not do that, we would not have M&A. Your links simply show that

No. The goal of M&A is to increase shareholder value, if the data said acquisitions generally do not do that, we would not have M&A. Your links simply show that some M&A scenarios (major acquisitions, acquisitions that are overpaid for, etc) lead to underperformance, not that M&A as an overarching thing "typically leads to the destruction of shareholder value." Nowhere do those articles say that.