We introduce the significance of a direct sentiment proxy as an explanatory variable of bidder announcement returns. We argue that sentiment subconsciously influences investor perception of potential merger synergies and risks, and therefore relates to bidder abnormal returns. We proxy daily sentiment based on Facebook status updates across seventeen international markets and show that there is a positive relation between sentiment and bidder announcement returns. In line with behavioral literature stating that sentiment more heavily influences uninformed traders, this relation is more pronounced in acquisitions with a low percentage of blockholder ownership, acquisitions of US public targets, and acquisitions of large targets relative to the size of the bidders. Our study goes beyond the conventional sentiment and stock market returns literature, uncovering a significant relation between sentiment and firm-specific abnormal returns to acquiring companies.

This paper studies the relation between state visits and cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. Based on 1161 state visits and 11,531 cross-border acquisitions, we find that corporations from visiting countries are more likely to acquire corporations in countries hosting the visit. Domestic acquisitions in the host country or M&As with non-visiting countries are not elevated. Evidence from instrumental variable analysis points towards a causal effect of state visits on M&A activity. Further analysis shows that the elevated M&A activity originating from visiting countries can be attributed to business networking and a reduction in investment uncertainty and cultural barriers.