The Q-theory of investment says that a firm's investment rate should rise with its Q. We argue here that this theory also explains why some firms buy other firms. We find that 1. A firm's merger and acquisition (Mamp;A) investment responds to its Q more -- by a factor of 2.6 -- than its direct...

We trace directors through time and across firms to study whether acquirers' access to non-public information about potential targets via their directors' past board service histories affects the market for corporate control. In a sample of publicly-traded U.S. firms, we find acquirers about 4.5...

We argue that takeovers have played a major role in speeding up the diffusion of new technology. The role that they play is similar to that of entry and exit of firms. We focus on and compare two periods: 1890-1930 during which electricity and the internal combustion engine spread through the...