One hundred years of economic history of an electricity company

Iberdrola

Abstract

This thesis analyses the different stages, from 1901 to 2005, through which the main electricity companies that have given rise to the current Iberdrola went through, paying special attention to the years before and after the mergers.
The mergers will be analysed using three approaches. Firstly, they will be studied by analysing the balance sheets and income statements three years before and three years after the mergers, carrying out a comparative analysis of economic and financial ratios for each merger period, discussing the most relevant data that may have given rise to the different values taken by these ratios, as well as describing the most significant economic and financial events year by year, chronologically speaking.
Secondly, the differences between the theoretical values and the listed values before and after the mergers are studied, concluding as a general rule that the mergers served to benefit the shareholders of the absorbed companies.
Finally, we will analyse the value of each company in the market before and after the mergers, observing how in some cases before the merger the company was undervalued in the market, increasing its value after the merger process.