Cross-border M&As and the changing economic geography of Europe

Andrés Rodríguez-Pose and Hans-Martin Zademach ()
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Hans-Martin Zademach: University of Munich

No 2007-19, Working Papers from Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados (IMDEA) Ciencias Sociales

Abstract: This paper investigates the patterns of corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) involving firms located in the EU25 as well as in the four EFTA countries between 1998 and 2003. It first uncovers the \'cross-border balance\' of M&As across European states, before identifying, through quantitative multiple regression analysis and insights from qualitative, interview-based research, the extent to which the spatial perspective sheds light onto the factors that may explain the detected levels and patterns of corporate takeovers across Europe. The results indicate that the traditional motives of access to new and core markets, the effects of geographical proximity, and the internalisation of \'localised capabilities\' (proxied by a skilled and innovative labour pool) represent the key drivers of European M&As. Institutional factors, such as European integration, assessments of country risk, or language barriers, as well as structural factors (e.g. unemployment or education) appear to be - at least at the intra-European scale - less influential.

Keywords: mergers & acquisitions; theory of the firm; spatial proximity; agglomeration economies; localised capabilities; economic integration; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-09-24
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-com, nep-eec, nep-geo and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in European Planning Studies 17(5), May 2009

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