In a sample of 1,507 US all-public acquisitions from 1985—2014, 5% of acquirers use the same advisor that underwrote the target’s initial public offering. Acquirers who use these informed advisors have acquisition announcement three-day cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) that are 2.048...

Firms that face high ambiguity—Knightian uncertainty—reduce organic investments and increase the likelihood, count, and dollar value of merger and acquisition bids. Conversely, firms that face low ambiguity are likely targets. The probability and speed of deal completion increase in the...

In a sample of 1,507 US all-public acquisitions from 1985—2014, 5% of acquirers use the same advisor that underwrote the target's initial public offering. Acquirers who use these informed advisors have acquisition announcement three-day cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) that are 2.048...