One of the most conspicuous features of mergers is that they come in waves, and that these waves are correlated with increases in share prices and price/earnings ratios. We test four hypotheses that have been advanced to explain merger waves: the industry shocks, q-, overvaluation and managerial...

This paper analyzes the effects of mergers around the world over the past 15 years. We utilize a large panel of data on mergers to test several hypotheses about mergers. The effects of the mergers are examined by comparing the performance of the merging firms with control groups of nonmerging...

We analyze the impact of corporate governance institutions, ownership structures andexternal capital market constraints on company returns on investment by using a sampleof more than 19,000 companies from 61 countries across the world. We show that (1) ofthese three sets of institutions, the...