This survey introduces a two-volume, 1,900-page reprint collection of articles recently published by Elsevier/North-Holland journals. Volume 1 begins with a comprehensive overview of the empirical evidence, followed by introductions to the econometrics of event studies and various techniques for...

Contingent future payments have gained a solid reputation as fundamental ingredients of business acquisition transactions. Earn-outs specifically are a species of contingent future payments that have proved helpful in a plethora of recent merger deals. An earn-out is payment for performance...

Assuming mergers are unpredictable, previous studies find they create no value for acquirers, while targets gain a hefty bid premium. This paper proposes a new approach to account for partial anticipation, which allows the parameters of the asset pricing model to change in response to...

By means of a company merger formerly legally and economically independent companies are tied up to an economic entity. To order the financial state of affairs after the merger, the current shareholders must revalue their stake in the merged company. The interest is focused on the valuation of...

Though mergers and acquisitions comprise a significant share of aggregate economic activity in the US, researchers disagree on the effect and importance of M&A determinants. Such disagreement stems from adherence to disparate theoretical models that preclude the use of significant explanatory...

We examine a firm’s motivation to engage in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMAs) and the source of value gains in such transactions. We find that the difference in industry growth opportunities between the target and acquirer countries (Relative industry growth (RIG)) is a key driving...

The “biological code” of a language can be measured by tone patterns and pitch heights, which are recognized to foster and promote certain personal traits like self-confidence and risk tolerance. Guided by linguistic and financial research, this study examines the impact of Chinese dialects...

We employ a sample of 201 freeze-out tender offers (offers of controlling shareholders to buy all public shares) in Israel to examine how investors' decision (to accept or reject the offer) is influenced by alternative reference prices, some of which are commonly specified in freeze-out offers....

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...

Though mergers and acquisitions comprise a significant share of aggregate economic activity in the US, researchers disagree on the effect and importance of M&A determinants. Such disagreement stems from adherence to disparate theoretical models that preclude the use of significant explanatory...