The Effects of Mergers: An International Comparison

43 Pages Posted: 16 May 2012 Last revised: 13 Jun 2015

See all articles by Klaus Peter Gugler

Klaus Peter Gugler

Vienna University of Economics and Business; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Dennis C. Mueller

University of Vienna - Center for Business Studies - Department of Economics

B. Burcin Yurtoglu

WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management

Christine Zulehner

University of Vienna - Faculty of Business, Economics, and Statistics; Télécom Paris; Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Date Written: May 16, 2003

Abstract

This paper analyzes the effects of mergers around the world over the past 15 years. We utilize a large panel of data on mergers to test several hypotheses about mergers. The effects of the mergers are examined by comparing the performance of the merging firms with control groups of nonmerging firms. The comparisons are made on profitability and sales. The results show that mergers on average do result in significant increases in profits, but reduce the sales of the merging firms. Interestingly, these post merger patterns look similar across countries. We also did not find dramatic differences between mergers in the manufacturing and the service sectors, and between domestic and cross-border mergers. Conglomerate mergers decrease sales more than horizontal mergers. By separating mergers into those that increase profits and those that reduce them and by then examining the patterns of sales changes following the mergers, we determine the effects of mergers on efficiency and market power. Our results suggest that those mergers that decrease profits and efficiency account for a large proportion. However, we can also identify mergers that increase profits by either increasing market power or by increasing efficiency. The first conclusion seems to be a more likely explanation for large companies, whereas the latter is likely to be true for small firms.

Keywords: Mergers, Acquisitions, International comparison, Market power, Efficiency

JEL Classification: G34, L2

Suggested Citation

Gugler, Klaus Peter and Mueller, Dennis C. and Yurtoglu, B. Burcin and Zulehner, Christine, The Effects of Mergers: An International Comparison (May 16, 2003). International Journal of Industrial Organization, Vol. 21, No. 5, 2003, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2061218

Klaus Peter Gugler

Vienna University of Economics and Business ( email )

Welthandelsplatz 1
Vienna, Wien 1020
Austria

HOME PAGE: http://www.wu.ac.at/iqv/mitarbeiter/gugler

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://www.ecgi.org

Dennis C. Mueller

University of Vienna - Center for Business Studies - Department of Economics ( email )

BWZ - Brünner Str.
A-1010 Vienna
Austria
+43 1 4277 37484 (Phone)
+43 1 4277 37498 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://mailbox.univie.ac.at/~muelled2/

B. Burcin Yurtoglu (Contact Author)

WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management ( email )

Chair of Corporate Finance
Burgplatz 2
Vallendar, 56179
Germany
+49 261 6509-721 (Phone)
+49 261 6509-729 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.whu.edu/forschung/fakultaet/finance-group/corporate-finance/

Christine Zulehner

University of Vienna - Faculty of Business, Economics, and Statistics ( email )

Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1
Wien, 1090
Austria

HOME PAGE: http://homepage.univie.ac.at/christine.zulehner

Télécom Paris ( email )

19 Place Marguerite Perey
Palaiseau, 91120
France

Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) ( email )

P.O. Box 91
Wien, A-1103
Austria

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

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