We analyze the effects insider and institutional ownership has on post-merger performance of Indian acquiring firms during the 2001-2012 period. When the sample is bifurcated into acquisitions announced before and after the beginning of 2006, cumulative abnormal returns are higher in the pre-2006 period, but buy and hold abnormal returns are higher in the post 2005 period. Firms with lower ownership concentration of insiders are characterized by superior post-merger performance and institutional investors invest more in such firms. However, institutional or insider holdings are not systematically correlated with superior post-merger performance. Insiders affect post-merger quarterly stock returns negatively 1, 2, and 3 years after announcements in both sub-sample periods whereas the corresponding effect of institutional investors is uniformly positive for the post 2005 period but positive only 1 year after the mergers and negative 2 and 3 years after mergers for the pre-2006 period.