We use hand-collected board data around the issuance of two distinct government-led board structure mandates in the U.K. to establish the effect of outside directors on acquirer performance. Increases in outside director representation are associated with better acquirer returns in deals...

This study explores the impact of joint corporate asset restructuring decisions where firms sell an asset in order to fund a subsequent acquisition (selling-to-buy). We find that firms with asset sales are associated with increased acquisition probability. The effect is more pronounced for...

Geopolitical risk (GPR) is negatively associated with both domestic and inbound cross-border acquisition activity. In support of the predictions of a real options channel, the negative effect of GPR is more pronounced when acquirers have foreign business segments or are financially constrained,...

This paper examines the effect of risk-taking incentives on acquisition investments. We find that CEOs with risk-taking incentives are more likely to invest in acquisitions. Economically, an inter-quartile range increase in vega translates into an approximately 4.22% enhancement in acquisition...

We contribute to the debate on whether stock-financed acquisitions destroy value for shareholders. A stock-financed acquisition is a joint takeover/equity-issue event. Using SEO announcement returns, we estimate through linear prediction and propensity-score matching the share price drop that...

There is a curvilinear relation between credit ratings and acquisitions. Non-investment grade firms make more acquisitions as their ratings improve, consistent with the relaxation of financial constraints. However, this pattern reverses for investment grade firms, supporting the view that such...

Using terrorist attacks as an exogenous shock to safety uncertainty, we provide causal evidence that firms located near terrorism-stricken areas receive lower takeover premium. The latter finding is reflected in lower target firm abnormal returns and synergy gains. Additionally, given that firms...

Using a global M&A data set, this paper provides evidence that the empirical observations relating public acquisitions to, at best, zero abnormal returns, and their stock-financed subset to negative abnormal returns for acquiring firms around the deal announcement are not unanimous across...

This paper establishes that credit ratings affect the choice of payment method in mergers and acquisitions. We find that bidders holding a high rating level are more likely to use cash financing in a takeover. We attribute this finding to lower financial constraints and enhanced capability of...

We examine the impact of CEOs’ ethnic cultural identity (ECI) on cross-border acquisitions. Regardless of the immigration time of CEOs’ ancestors to the US, acquirers are more likely to bid for a target in their CEOs’ ancestry country of origin. The CEO ECI does not significantly affect...