Horizontal Minority Stake Acquisitions and Patent Activity

Emilie Feyler, Sven Heim, Szücs, Florian and Yossi Spiegel

No 20917, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: We study the effect of horizontal minority stake acquisitions on firms’ innovation incentives and patenting behavior. Using patent data from 34 countries between 2001 and 2019, we employ a staggered, matching-based difference-in-differences approach, complemented by an event study. We find that such acquisitions lead to a decline in both the number of patents granted and the number of citations received, indicating a reduction in innovation activity. These results suggest that horizontal minority acquisitions can serve as a mechanism to soften rivalry, not only in product markets, but also in innovation.

Keywords: Innovation; Merger policy; Patents; Minority shareholdings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 G14 L13 L40 O31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-12
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