Influence of target industry growth on premiums in cross-border acquisitions

Abstract

Purpose In this paper, the knowledge-based view of the firm is applied to theoretically elucidate and empirically examine the influence of target industry growth on premium payments in cross-border acquisitions. This study aims to extend internally driven Mergers and Acquisitions research efforts of acquirers to industry contingencies of targets by analyzing cross-border acquirers located within the group of seven (G7) countries. Design/methodology/approach This study’s investigation covers 209 cross-border acquisitions from 2012 to 2019 undertaken by firms located within the G7 countries. This paper used generalized estimation equations method to test the hypotheses applying Gaussian distribution for the dependent variable, an identity link function, exchangeable correlation structure and robust standard errors. Findings This study’s results reveal that target industry growth determines premiums. Furthermore, this study shows that acquirer industry growth, as well as acquirer slack, moderates this relationship. This study is built on the notion that industry contingencies influence premiums even when target firms are based in foreign countries. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, unlike other studies, this is the first to explicitly focus on premiums for multiple cross-border acquisitions by hand selecting nine years of industry sale figures for 53 industries separately in each of the G7 nation countries (leading to 371 separate downloads of data samples). This study contends that industry growth of cross-border targets matters for premium payments.

The moderating effects of the industry competition level and industry diversification on the relationship between the transaction price of mergers and acquisitions and corporate value

“…Furthermore, the CEO's characteristics, including hubris or excessive self-confidence, explain a significant portion of M&A premiums quantitatively (Brahma et al, 2023). These factors contribute to the final M&A transaction price being determined at a higher price than the preacquisition market value of the target firm, and the difference between this price and the fair value can be interpreted as a premium at the time of the M&A transaction (Bebenroth & Ahmed, 2023). Unfortunately, this premium ultimately negatively affects the interests of acquiring company shareholders (Can & Dizdarlar, 2022).…”

“…These additional amounts may be higher depending on the competitive environment surrounding the M&A (Just, Honold, & Meckl, 2023). These factors contribute to the final M&A transaction price being determined at a higher price than the pre-acquisition market value of the target firm, and the difference between this price and the fair value can be interpreted as a premium at the time of the M&A transaction (Bebenroth & Ahmed, 2023). Most previous studies have indicated a tendency for excessive premiums to be paid in merger and acquisition transactions, resulting in the overvaluation of the transaction value (Zhang, Zhang, Yu, & Ma, 2023).…”