This paper utilizes a hazard model to predict the probability of leveraged buyout transactions for public firms. Rather than testing specific hypotheses, this paper incorporates all plausible predictors identified in existing literature to better delineate the effects of different characteristics. Largely confirming past results, I find that LBO transactions are more likely to occur for companies with more stable cash flows, less market visibility, lower market valuation, lower ownership concentration and lower costs of financial distress. By including LBO transactions from 1980 to September 2018, I find preliminary evidence that since the financial crisis of 2008 – 2009, private equity firms have modified their selection criteria when sourcing LBO deal targets.

Despite the high rate of failure in merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions, many organizations continue to rely on M&As as their primary growth strategy and to address market competition. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies managers from a large healthcare payer in the midwestern United States used to achieve operational and strategic synergies during the postacquisition information technology (IT) integration phase. Haspeslagh and Jemison's acquisition integration approaches model was the conceptual framework for the study. Methodological triangulation was established by analyzing the data from the semistructured interviews of 6 senior executives and 6 IT strategists, discussion points produced in a focus group involving 4 acquisition integration leaders, and information gleaned from M&A periodicals. Data were analyzed using Saldaña's thematic analysis method and showed that the healthcare payer organization managers used the following 4 strategies to achieve the planned synergies: plan for expected business synergies from the postacquisition IT integration, make cultural harmonization a key element of change management, align and continuously evaluate the progress of postacquisition IT integration strategies against planned synergies, and preserve durability of acquired capabilities by granting autonomy to the acquired organization. The findings of this study could lead to positive social change by stimulating a business environment that might allow healthcare payers to expand their strategic capabilities and serve their local communities with new products and other choices that improve the quality of care, health outcomes, well-being, and longevity of the consumer.

ABSTRACT In the first essay titled "The Value of Strategic Alliances in Acquisitions and IPOs," I investigate how firms' strategic alliance experience affects their valuations as acquisition targets or in IPOs. I propose that strategic alliance experience serves as a valuable signaling device for target and IPO firms, particularly those with more intangible assets and greater opacity. The results show that takeover targets with alliance experience receive higher premiums than those without such experience. More recent alliance experience as well as alliance experience in the same industry also contributes to a larger target gain. Similarly, IPO firms that have alliance experience are shown to obtain higher valuations than those without the experience. Finally, alliance experience increases the likelihood that private firms exit by going public rather than being acquired. In the second essay titled "For Better or For Worse: The Spillover Effect of Innovation Events on Alliance Partners," I examine the spillover effects of breakthrough innovations on the strategic alliance partners of the innovative firm. I find direct stock market evidence that the shareholders of strategic alliance partners significantly benefit from the spillover effects of these innovations. Multivariate analyses indicate that young and newly listed innovator firms with better growth opportunities generate bigger abnormal returns when announcing innovation events and bring larger spillover effects for their alliance partners with similar characteristics. In addition, I explore the risks associated with alliance partnerships, showing that FDA warning letters cause significant wealth losses for both the innovative firm and their alliance partners.

We compare acquisition activity, method of payment choice, and the long-run value implications of acquisitions by newly public single-class and dual-class US companies. Our results show that dual-class IPO firms make relatively more acquisitions in innovative industries and are less likely to pay with stock as compared to single-class IPO firms. We provide evidence that the reluctance of dual-class firms to pay with stock is not related to the insiders' cash-flow rights but it is significantly positively related to the insiders' voting rights and wedge between the insiders' voting rights and cash-flow rights. We also find that acquiring dual-class IPOs perform better in the long-run than acquiring single-class IPO firms, and the better performance is mainly due to acquisitions in innovative industries. The results suggest that insiders of dual-class IPOs try to retain control during subsequent M&A activities. The governance structure in such firms allows them to make investments in high risk projects that enhance shareholder value in the long-run. Next, we examine the acquisition performance of family and non-family firms in the S&P 500 universe. Using style-adjusted and market-adjusted buy-and-hold returns (BHAR) and controlling for firm and merger characteristics, we find that the post-merger performance of family firms is significantly better than that of non-family firms. In particular, the mean one-year style-adjusted buy-and hold abnormal return is around 18% higher for family acquirers than for non-family acquirers. Further, contrary to the argument that founding family members make value-destroying diversifying acquisitions to minimize the risk of their personal portfolio, we do not find that family firms lose value in diversifying acquisitions. This result is consistent with Stein's model (1997) showing that diversification helps to reduce the cost of capital of the firm.

現今小規模電信業者面臨因應不同的生命週期而出現不同的經營問題，或許併購是可值得思考的一種方式，但並不是絕對解決方式，重點是要找出對企業最有價值的策略。如何進行併購？需思考適合企業本身的方式，才能將併購後之綜效發揮至極大，故完善的評估作業，是小規模電信業者在併購前必作的課題。 本研究試針對小規模新進電信業者，研討可能透過的併購方式，使企業有增加企業價值及成長機會。其可能選擇之併購型態、併購動機(包含營運綜效、市場綜效、財務綜效、稅務綜效)及併購後可能產生之負面影響分別就問卷，訪談及個案分析找出最適合小規模電信業者併購策略方式。 研究發現台灣大哥大及遠傳電信在合併過程中都屬於主併者、同源式併購、併購雙方而言皆為合意併購。於提升品牌競爭力、增加經濟規模及範疇以及有效運用資源上有明顯之效果，但就市場綜效及財務綜效短期內並不明顯。另外根據問卷及訪談也發現大部分受訪者認為小規模業者應考慮作為「被併者」而非「主併者」，合併策略以「水平式」及「合意」方式為佳。合併之營運綜效前三名排名分別為「增加市場佔有率(用戶數)」、「增加生存能力」、「增加經濟規模」，市場綜效前三名為「可提升網路涵蓋率」、「可提高市場談判籌碼，進而降低進貨成本」、「可創造更多新用戶」。財務綜效前三名為「可改善財務結構」、「可提升股價」、「可增加其現金流量與穩定性」。至於稅務綜效則分別來自於利息費用可產生之稅盾以及小規模業者之虧損可作為合併個體所得稅之抵減項目。最後，調查中也發現併購後可能會因企業文化相異，導致企業人才流失，資源重覆投資，或因整合不易，導致營運成本增加。關鍵字：併購、小規模電信業者 / Currently, in Taiwan small telecom operators were facing different life cycles as well as operating issuing. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is a possible way which is worth to consider, but should not be the ultimately way, because the main point is to identify the most valuable strategy for the operators. How to make a successful M&A? Small telecom operators (STO) should identify an appropriate way for their own to achieve the maximum benefit for M&A. Therefore, a complete evaluation M&A is a very important topic for STO before merger. This study concentrates on M&A of STO, and tries to analyze the possible ways for STO to increase corporate value and growth opportunities through M&A. The research uses questionnaires, interview and case study approaches to analyze types of M&A, motivations of M&A (including synergy of operating, marketing, financial and tax effectiveness) and possible negative impacts after M&A. The case study finds that both Taiwan Mobile and Far East Tone Telecommunications in the M&A process were "the main acquirers", the type of M&A is "homologous-type merger" and "friendly takeover merger ". The both cases also indicat that the brand competitiveness improvement, increasing economies of scale and scope, and effectiveness of resources using have significant effects, but the effects of market synergy and financial synergy are not so obvious in the short term. In addition, questionnaires and interviews also suggested that most of respondents believe that the small telecom operators should consider to be "acquired firm" instead of "acquiring firm" "horizontal" and "friendly takeover" are the better M&A strategies for STO. The top three operating synergies were "increasing market share (number of subscribers) ", "increasing the survivability", and "increasing the economics of scale". The top three market synergies are "improving network coverage", "enhancing bargaining power and reducing purchasing costs", and "creating more new subscribers". The top three financial synergies are "improving financial structure", "increasing stock price", and "increasing cash flow and its stability". Synergy of tax is coming from the "tax shield", which is result from interest expenses and operating loss for STO, respectively. Finally, the study also finds that the negative post merger effects include corporate culture change which increases employees’ turnover rate, duplicate investment, and increasing operating costs due to difficult integration. Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions, Small Telecom Operators

<p>This thesis aims at investigating consumers’ perceptions on the incorporation of an established brand and how the general attitude and buying behaviour is altered in the course of an acquisition. The combination of two or more brands in a newly formed conglomerate implies a combination of values, principles and associations that might affect a company’s appeal. Therefore, underlying reasons for M&As will be elaborated upon as well as branding concepts based on brand image, loyalty and reputation in order to bridge the two theoretical areas with a case study. The acquisition of Body Shop International by L’Oréal represents the practical case, which will be analysed in reference to consumers’ reactions towards it. Quantitative consumer questionnaires will be conducted in order to collect representative data on consumers’ perceptions and associations of the brand Body Shop. Moreover, an expert interview with a Body Shop representative will be executed in order to add the company’s perspective. By analysing the results of the questionnaire, the thesis reveals an observable trend towards a correlation of the awareness of the acquisition and a negative shift in customer perception. The buying behaviour is however not found to be influenced by the combination of the two firms. In conclusion, it can be stated that the need for pre-acquisition analysis regarding strategic fit and compatibility of values and associations is assured. The study clearly identifies that brand dilution is a possible threat for established brands and implies the risk of lost credibility and loyalty.</p>

Persistence of stock returns is an extensively studied and discussed theme in the analysis of financial markets. Antipersistence is usually attributed to volatilities. However, not only volatilities but also stock returns can exhibit antipersistence. Antipersistent noise has a somewhat rougher appearance than Gaussian noise. Heuristically spoken, price movements are more likely followed by movements in the opposite direction than in the same direction. The pertaining integrated process exhibits a smaller range – prices seem to stay in the vicinity of the initial value. We apply a widely used test based upon the modified R/S-Method by Lo [1991] to daily returns of 21 German stocks from 1960 to 2008. Combining this test with the concept of moving windows by Carbone et al. [2004], we are able to determine periods of antipersistence for some of the series under examination. Our results suggest that antipersistence can be found for stocks and periods where extraordinary corporate actions such as mergers & acquisitions or financial distress are present. These effects should be properly accounted for when choosing and designing models for inference.

This thesis aims at investigating consumers’ perceptions on the incorporation of an established brand and how the general attitude and buying behaviour is altered in the course of an acquisition. The combination of two or more brands in a newly formed conglomerate implies a combination of values, principles and associations that might affect a company’s appeal. Therefore, underlying reasons for M&amp;As will be elaborated upon as well as branding concepts based on brand image, loyalty and reputation in order to bridge the two theoretical areas with a case study. The acquisition of Body Shop International by L’Oréal represents the practical case, which will be analysed in reference to consumers’ reactions towards it. Quantitative consumer questionnaires will be conducted in order to collect representative data on consumers’ perceptions and associations of the brand Body Shop. Moreover, an expert interview with a Body Shop representative will be executed in order to add the company’s perspective. By analysing the results of the questionnaire, the thesis reveals an observable trend towards a correlation of the awareness of the acquisition and a negative shift in customer perception. The buying behaviour is however not found to be influenced by the combination of the two firms. In conclusion, it can be stated that the need for pre-acquisition analysis regarding strategic fit and compatibility of values and associations is assured. The study clearly identifies that brand dilution is a possible threat for established brands and implies the risk of lost credibility and loyalty.

The global semiconductor industry had gone through a consecutive years of prosperity in the 1990s due to the strong demand in personal computer as well as the enormous internet investiment. Even more, it gained an eruptive growth in years 1999 and 2000. The semiconductor fabrication companies¡¦ capital spending in new equipment segment grew year by year. The equipment suppliers¡¦ revenue and gross margin had then set record high. However, combined the internet bubbled in 2000 with the shortage of killer application, the chip makers¡¦ capital spending had thereafter dramatically slowdown for years and hence seriously impacted the equipment suppliers¡¦ financial performance. Ever after the great recession in year 2000, the equipment suppliers have been taking steps to alleviate the industry downturns¡¦ impact in their financial report. Meanwhile, the companies have also identified ways to further grow their business. Besides, the semiconductor industry has been introducing advanced nanomanufacturing technologies which demand huge resource commitment as well as capital investiment. The chip makers have therefore urged the equipment suppliers to assist them in area about cost reduction and productivity improvement. This study takes the world biggest semiconductor frabication equipment maker, Applied Materials, as an example, to investigate the company¡¦s strategically responsivenesses against the business cycles, the current industry environment and its desire in business growth. The conclusions are: 1)Applied Materials has been taking joint ventures, outsourcing and global development center establishments to reduce its operation cost. It had also entered the fab service market to create a new niche. 2)In response to the customers¡¦ demand in productivity improvement , Applied Materials has been activating differentiation strategies to develop high-productivity products. It has also been performing Continuous Improvement Plans (CIP) to further reduce its products¡¦ Cost Of Ownership (COO) to meet the customers¡¦ requirement in cost reduction. 3)The equipement suppliers have been conducting related constrained diversification strategies to extend their business scope. They mostly used the Mergers & Acquisitions to enter the new markets. 4)The strategy effectiveness (in view of the shareholders¡¦ return on investment), is positively related to its consistency with the company¡¦s core competencies. In other word, the higher the consistency is, the better the ROI will be. Keyword: Internal Environment Analysis, External Environment Analysis, Strategic Responsiveness, Diversification Strategy, Differentiation Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions

Sverige är ett av de länder som påverkas mest av globaliseringen. En kraftig ökning av utländska direktinvesteringar och gränsöverskridande förvärv och fusioner har förändrat det svenska näringslivet. Var femte svensk i näringslivet arbetar idag i ett utlandsägt företag. Utländska institutionella investerare står för runt en tredjedel av ägandet på Stockholmsbörsen. Ett nytt sätt att se på företagens mål och mening sägs ha kommit till Sverige. Talet om aktieägarvärde ges utrymme i media och i företagens kommunikation. Det sätter aktieägarna i främsta rummet på ett sätt som är annorlunda jämfört med ett svenskt intressentmodellsorienterat sätt att se på företaget. Mot denna bakgrund studeras fyra svenska företag som snabbt blir mer internationella genom förvärv och fusioner. I en hermeneutisk studie får vi genom kvalitativa och longitudinella fallstudier följa anställda och chefer och se deras reaktioner på de stora förändringar som internationaliseringen innebär för vardagslivet i organisationen. Läsaren erbjuds en explorativ och induktiv resa som ger en ökad förståelse för mötet mellan det svenska och det globala och för vilken påverkan som sker på svenska företags relationer med sina nära intressenter. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2006