Do cross-border mergers and acquisitions increase short-term market performance? The case of Chinese firms

Despite the new momentum in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by emerging market firms, we have a limited understanding of the impact of these activities. Drawing on signalling theory and the institution-based view, this paper examines the extent of stock market reactions to the announcement of cross-border M&A deals, based on an event study of a sample of Chinese firms during the period 2000–2012. The findings indicate that the announcement of cross-border M&As results in a positive stock market reaction; this effect is more significant in the mainland Chinese stock markets (Shanghai and Shenzhen) than that in the Hong Kong market. The shareholders of Chinese firms that acquire a target firm in a host country with a low level of political risk gain higher cumulative abnormal returns than those firms targeting companies in countries with a high level of political risk. The shareholders of Chinese state-owned enterprises experience lower abnormal returns compared with those of Chinese privately owned firms when engaging in cross-border M&A deals.     

Similarities and differences among cross-border M&A and greenfield FDI determinants: Evidence from Asia and Oceania

Firms choose either cross-border M&A or greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) when expanding their operations overseas. In this study, by focusing on Japanese firms pursuing FDI in emerging countries in Asia and Oceania, we provide empirical evidence of the similarities and differences in cross-border M&A and greenfield FDI determinants. We derive the following four main conclusions. First, an increase in host-country population size and decreases in per capita income and corporate tax rates generally attract both inward cross-border M&A and greenfield FDI to the host country. Second, however, a home-country firm tends to choose cross-border M&A rather than greenfield FDI when the host country sufficiently implements shareholder rights laws and the firm tends to choose greenfield FDI rather than cross-border M&A when the host country adequately enforces intellectual property rights laws. Third, a firm tends to choose greenfield FDI when the firm already has regional networks in the host country and choose cross-border M&A when the purpose of the firm's overseas operations is to establish sales distribution channels. Finally, a firm pursuing cross-border M&A experiences higher cumulative abnormal returns in its stock prices following the investment, while a firm pursuing greenfield FDI experiences increases in its stock prices immediately before the investment.     

Impact of the female board members and gaps in linguistic gender marking on cross-border M&A

This research focuses on how the gender composition of a multinational board and linguistic gender marking gaps between home and host countries impact the extent of cross-border M&A activity. We argue, both theoretically and empirically, that the presence of female directors impacts cross-border M&As. Using an instrumental variable approach, we demonstrate that this effect is causal. Innovatively, we measure gaps in linguistic gender marking between home and host countries, and find that larger gaps also reduce cross-border M&As. Finally, we show that small gaps in linguistic gender marking moderate the effect of female presence in boardroom on cross-border M&As. ‎     

Enhancing performance of cross-border mergers and acquisitions in developed markets: The role of business ties and technological innovation capability

This study examines the determinants of performance of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (cross-border M&As) in developed markets initiated by firms from emerging markets. Drawing on social network theory and organizational innovation literature, we hypothesize that business ties of the acquiring firm increase performance of cross-border M&As via enhancing the acquiring firm's technological innovation capability and that environmental turbulence strengthens this mediating model. Moreover, the interplay of cultural distance and technological innovation capability would decrease performance of cross-border M&As. To test the model, we collected data from 186 Chinese firms initiating cross-border M&As in developed markets. As predicted, we found that (1) technological innovation capability of the acquiring firm positively mediates the relationship between business ties and performance of cross-border M&As; (2) environmental turbulence positively moderates the relationship between business ties and technological innovation capability; and (3) cultural distance negatively moderates the relationship between technological innovation capability and performance of cross-border M&As.     

Determinants of cross-border M&As in Latin America

This article analyzes the determinants of cross-border M&As in the Latin American region during the period 1998-2004. Using a unique dataset of 868 Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) events, the study focuses attention on the effect of macroeconomic and investor protection conditions in the countries where the companies reside over the likelihood of these companies participating in a cross-border M&A transaction. The study considers the effect of company-specific variables in the likelihood of going cross-border. Univariate analysis and logistic regressions strongly support the idea that better economic and business-friendly conditions in the countries where the target operates, increase the likelihood of cross-border merger. Results show that not only is the business environment in the target country important but also in the bidder country. Lower levels of property rights protection in the acquirer country negatively affect the likelihood of a cross-border deal. Finally, the likelihood of a cross-border merger increases when the target faces higher cost of funding than the acquirer's.     

政治风险与中国企业对外直接投资——基于东道国与母国两个维度的实证分析

利用中国大陆企业对外直接投资(OFDI)统计数据和两类政治风险指数进行实证研究,结果发现:来自东道国的政治风险对OFDI有着显著的负向影响;本土的政治风险对于OFDI也有实质影响;经济增长、经济开放程度以及政府政策等因素对OFDI也有显著作用。     

“一带一路”东道国制度环境与中国企业对外直接绩效研究

利用2006—2017年中国上市公司在“一带一路”沿线国家的560例OFDI事件为研究样本，实证探究了“一带一路”东道国制度环境对中国企业OFDI绩效的影响，并基于竞争优势视角进一步考察了境外经贸合作区、母国特定优势以及企业年龄的调节效应。研究发现：“一带一路”东道国制度环境在一定程度上会对中国企业OFDI绩效的提升产生负面影响，境外经贸合作区、母国特定优势和企业年龄对上述负面效应具有弱化作用，竞争优势效应在国有与民营企业之间呈现出异质性。研究结论将为中国企业在“一带一路”沿线国家开展高质量海外投资提供参考借鉴。     

The stock market performance of exploration-oriented and exploitation-oriented cross-border mergers and acquisitions: Evidence from emerging market enterprises

This study builds on insights from mergers and acquisitions (M&A) studies and the perspective that stock market performance is affected by the M&A strategies of firms. Past studies show that acquisitions are an effective way to exploit existing knowledge and explore new possibilities. We argue that stock market performance can be a response to exploration/exploitation strategies in the context of cross-border M&As by emerging market multinationals. Based on cross-border M&A data of Chinese multinationals, we find that exploration-oriented acquisitions have worse stock market performance than exploitation-oriented acquisitions. Furthermore, we find support for our premise that acquiring firms can reduce the risk of exploration-oriented acquisitions by having more high-discretion slack resources or by maintaining a high level of equity share of the target firm. In addition, acquiring firms perform better if they conduct exploration-oriented acquisitions in related industries. Our results contribute to a better understanding of exploration and exploitation in the context of M&As.     

中国企业跨国并购交易完成率决定因素分析

本文通过对2000~2015年期间804起中国企业宣告的跨国并购交易作为样本研究发现,并购目标的选择会影响中国企业跨国并购交易完成的可能性。从宏观层面来看,东道国/地区的制度质量与跨国并购交易成功的可能性正相关。从目标方企业特征来看,作为目标企业,如果是私人目标会增加跨国并购交易完成的可能性。从交易特征来看,如果收购采用现金支付方式会减少中国企业跨国并购交易完成的可能性。     

Liability of emergingness and EMNEs’ cross-border acquisition completion: A legitimacy perspective

This paper contributes to the literature on emerging multinational enterprises (EMNEs) by revealing how the conditions in their home countries influence their cross-border acquisitions. The study focuses on the liability of emergingness (LOE). It develops an integrative theoretical framework based on neo-institutional theory and the concept of legitimacy to explain the relationship between LOE and EMNEs’ cross-border acquisitions completion and the situational conditions that shape this relationship. The study uses data on 27,648 announced acquisitions conducted by EMNEs from 24 emerging economies in 175 host countries to estimate the relationships. The results reveal that, while two types of LOE (economic and institutional) have negative impacts on cross-border acquisition completion, the negative impacts become less important or disappear when the host country’s unemployment rate is too high, and the host country’s institutional quality is too low. This finding suggests that EMNEs can mitigate the negative effect of the LOE by carefully choosing a good time and a suitable location to enter into these transactions.     

Cherries for sale: The incidence and timing of cross-border M&A

This paper develops a model of cross-border M&A activity that features firm-level productivity shocks and endogenous export activity. We show that foreign firms will be relatively more attracted to targets in the domestic country that had high productivity levels that induced them to invest in large export networks several years prior to acquisition, but subsequently experienced a negative productivity shock (i.e., cherries for sale). From the theory we derive a dynamic panel binary choice empirical model to predict cross-border M&A activity, and find strong evidence for our hypotheses connecting the evolution of firm-level productivity to the ultimate targets of cross-border acquisitions using French firm-level data.     

Why do Chinese firms tend to acquire strategic assets in international expansion?

More Chinese companies are using cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) to access and source strategic assets so as to address their competitive disadvantage. However, there is lack of research on the rationale for such strategic-asset-seeking M&A. This paper intends to address this critical issue from an institutional perspective. Building on institutional theory, we propose a model of resource-driven motivation behind Chinese M&A. To shed light on the explanatory power of this institutional framework, we draw on a multiple-case study of three leading Chinese firms—TCL, BOE and Lenovo. By arguing that cross-border M&A from Chinese firms represents a means to acquire strategic assets is the logic of Chinese unique institutional environment, this study is of importance not only to stimulate possible theoretical extensions but also to draw implications to other emerging market firms.     

Cherries for sale: The incidence and timing of cross-border M&A

This paper develops a model of cross-border M&A activity that features firm-level productivity shocks and endogenous export activity. We show that foreign firms will be relatively more attracted to targets in the domestic country that had high productivity levels that induced them to invest in large export networks several years prior to acquisition, but subsequently experienced a negative productivity shock (i.e., cherries for sale). From the theory we derive a dynamic panel binary choice empirical model to predict cross-border M&A activity, and find strong evidence for our hypotheses connecting the evolution of firm-level productivity to the ultimate targets of cross-border acquisitions using French firm-level data.     

Institutional conditions,economic policy uncertainty and foreign institutional investment in China

This paper investigates the influence of host and home country institutional conditions on foreign institutional investment. Utilizing longitudinal and multilevel data on foreign institutional investment in Chinese listed firms between 2004 and 2017, we document that foreign institutional investment decreases with increasing economic policy uncertainty in the host nation. We also find that foreign institutional investors respond more strongly to local economic policy uncertainty when their home nations are closer to China, are culturally and administratively similar to China, operate a smaller domestic stock market, and have weaker minority shareholder protection. The impact of economic policy uncertainty on foreign institutional investment is also stronger when the host nation institution is more developed and open.. Moreover, we reveal the mediating role of stock market volatility on this relationship. Overall, we document that foreign institutional investment is not only shaped by institutional conditions in the host country but also influenced by home country characteristics that define geographical and institutional distance between home and host nations.     

How do employees adapt to organizational change driven by cross-border M&As? A case in China

Globalization has encouraged merger and acquisitions (M&As) across countries. We propose a theoretical model that explains the process through which employees adapt to changes introduced by cross-border M&As. Empirical analyses based on 174 Chinese employees who experienced an unexpected M&A initiated by a Western company suggest that the relationship between change management practices (i.e., provision of training and assurance of job security) and post-change performance is mediated by employees’ person–change (P–C) fit perceptions. Integrating the quantitative results with interviews, we further theorize that underlying cultural dynamics (e.g., collectivism and Confucian doctrines) drive change-related attitudes and behavior among Chinese employees.     

Greenfield FDI,cross-border M&As,and government size

This study examines the effects of greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on government size in host countries of FDI. Using panel data for up to 130 countries for the period from 2003 to 2011, the study specifically tests the compensation hypothesis, suggesting that by increasing economic insecurity, economic openness leads to larger government size. It is found that greenfield FDI increases labour market volatility and thereby economic insecurity while M&As are not significantly associated with labour market volatility. The main results of this study are that greenfield FDI has a robust positive effect on government size, while M&As have no statistically significant effect on government size in the total sample of developed and developing countries, as well as in the sub-samples of developed and developing countries.     

Foreign direct investment via M&A and domestic entrepreneurship: blessing or curse?

There are conflicting predictions in the literature about the relationship between FDI and entrepreneurship. This paper explores how foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, measured by lagged cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), affect entrepreneurial entry in the host economy. We have constructed a micro-panel of more than two thousand individuals in each of seventy countries, 2000–2009, linked to FDI by matching sectors. We find the relationship between FDI inflows and domestic entrepreneurship to be negative across all economies. This negative effect is much more pronounced in developed than developing economies and is also identified within industries, notably in manufacturing. Policies to encourage FDI via M&A need to consider how to counteract the prevailing adverse effect on domestic entrepreneurship.     

Geographic proximity and M&As: Evidence from China

This paper investigates the impact of geographic proximity on mergers and acquisitions (M&As). In recent years, the Chinese government has invested heavily in high-speed railway (HSR) construction, which has greatly reduced the commuting time between connected cities and facilitated cross-city investments. Therefore, we exploit whether two cities were connected by an HSR as a quasi-natural experiment to identify the causal relationship between geographic proximity and M&As. We find that the number of M&As between two HSR-connected cities increases by 9.6% after adopting HSR service. Additional results show that HSRs have reduced the average time of completing M&A transactions by 29.4% and increased the subsequent economic performance of the acquirers. A mechanism analysis shows that HSRs promote M&As mainly by alleviating the information asymmetry between acquirers and targets and promoting monitoring on targets.     

Do mergers and acquisitions promote trade? Evidence from China

Many studies have shown that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) raise firms' productivity. Few researches investigate whether exporters can enhance export performance after M&A through higher levels of efficiency. Based on detailed information on M&A activities of Chinese firms, China's customs trade data and National Bureau of Statistics surveys, we investigate the causal effect of M&A on trade performance. In particular, the value and the volume of firm exports, product quality, product scope and the number of export destinations have been examined. We find positive and significant effects of M&A on all the examined indicators of export performance. These findings are generally robust to a variety of robustness checks. We further observe that state-owned firms are the least likely to benefit from M&A. We also obtain evidence that firms benefit more from M&A deals if they are targets or merge with foreign firms. Overall, this paper is to our knowledge the first study that uses micro-level data in multiple industries to examine the relationship between M&A and exports of heterogeneous firms. Our results deepen our understanding of the consequences of M&A by suggesting another potential benefit, and hence provide policy implications for merger regulation.     

我国兼并重组政策的实施效果——以上市公司为例

以2005—2016年沪深A股上市公司以及2005—2019年沪深A股上市公司并购绩效数据为样本,以我国2010年出台的促进企业兼并重组的政策为切入点,综合运用面板二值选择模型、泊松模型、动态面板模型等方法,从企业并购微观层面考察兼并重组政策的实施效果。研究发现,从数量上来看,兼并重组政策颁布后激励了企业并购,提高了企业并购的概率和并购数量;从质量上来看,虽然企业并购后短期绩效提高,但从长期绩效来看,企业并购后民营企业和地方国有企业长期财务绩效下降,中央企业长期财务绩效提高。进一步研究发现,兼并重组政策通过缓解融资约束的途径弱化了兼并重组政策和并购绩效的负相关关系,提高了并购企业的长期财务绩效;但通过政府补贴手段强化了兼并重组政策和并购绩效的负相关关系,进一步降低了并购企业的长期财务绩效。研究结论意味着兼并重组政策的颁布对不同所有权性质的企业实施效果不同,中央企业在兼并重组政策颁布后企业并购的概率和数量增多,并购绩效提高;而民营企业和地方国有企业在兼并重组政策颁布后虽然并购的概率和数量增多,但是从质量来看长期财务绩效下降。