The Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions Wave of the Late 1990s

Simon Evenett

No 9655, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: To establish a benchmark, the cross border mergers and acquisitions wave of the late 1990s is compared to its predecessor in the late 1980s. It is found to be at least five times larger (in real terms), to involve firms from more OECD nations, and to include many more service sector transactions. However, in comparison to the size of national stock market capitalizations, foreign mergers with and acquisitions of domestic firms during this latest wave were small, especially in the Group of Seven leading industrial economies. The effect of cross border mergers and acquisitions on performance in one important service sector, banking, is also examined. Specifically, the relative importance of cross border mergers and acquisitions, domestic mergers and acquisitions, domestic entry and exit, and strategic alliances and joint ventures for interest rate spreads was estimated for 13 industrial nations. The principal findings suggest that the effects of these firm-driven changes in banking market structure differ markedly between EU member states and non-EU industrialized economies. This highlights the importance of differentiating between types of cross border inter-firm agreements and the pitfalls of generalising about the effects of the latest wave of cross border mergers and acquisitions as many of the harshest critics of globalization do.

JEL-codes: F2 L4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2003-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-com and nep-his
Note: ITI
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

Published as Baldwin, Robert E. and L. Alan Winters (eds.) Challenges to globalization: Analyzing the economics NBER Economic Research Conference Report series. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Published as The Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions Wave of the Late 1990s , Simon Evenett. in Challenges to Globalization: Analyzing the Economics , Baldwin and Winters. 2004

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Chapter: The Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions Wave of the Late 1990s (2004)
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