We provide new facts about the cross-section and evolution of mergers and acquisitions for U.S. public firms. Using a general equilibrium model with a hedonic demand system and data on institutional ownership, we document that mergers are increasingly concentrated among firm pairs with a high...

We document a secular shift from IPOs to acquisitions of venture capital-backed startups and show that this trend is accompanied by an increase in the opportunity cost of going public over the last quarter century. Dominant companies that are disproportionately active in the corporate control...