Journal of Corporate Finance Vol. 66 2021
Do state visits affect cross-border mergers and acquisitions?
Abstract
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.
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2020.101800
- Volume
- 66
- Pages
- 101800
- Language
- en
- Sources
- openalex crossref bibtex:phds-export.bib