published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration, Durban Institute of Technology, 2004. / This thesis describes and analyses the integration process of mergers and acquisitions, which is often blamed for the failure of such undertakings. It explains the status quo for internal branding in general and in the environment of mergers and acquisitions. The two aspects are integrated in such a manner as to develop an internal brand strategy that resolves many of the common integration problems. Since the traditional focus on branding is on the external environment rather than the internal environment, the objective of this thesis is to emphasise the employee rather than the customer. As the writer believes that through the development of internal brand awareness and loyalty, the net effect is that the overall effectiveness of the entire merged organisation will increase exponentially. In this thesis, a meta-analysis approach is utilised to develop theory, thus this study is exclusively a qualitative styled study. The strategy developed in this thesis is not a once off fix, but is a continuous process that must be maintained and implemented by the management and shareholders of the organisation to ensure the success of the brand and the new merged organisation. / M

This dissertation investigates the sources of growth which are available to conglomerate companies and draws some limited conclusions with regard to which are the major sources.

In essay 1 (Investment bank role in acquisition of private targets), using a sample of private targets from January 1992 to December 2010, I find that special information asymmetry when bidders prusue private targets alters the factors used by bidders and targets to decide whether to hire an investment bank.... It appears that the investment bank has a significant impact on the outcome of the acquisition of a private target. In essay 2 (Investment bank role in asset sell-off transactions), I also find that special information asymmetry when a buyer pursues divested assets alters the factors used by the buyer and seller to decide whether to hire an investment bank. ...I find that when the seller empoloys an investment bank, the increase in unsystematic and total risk of the buyer is greater than in cases when the seller does not use an investment bank. / by Kien Cao. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

The purpose of the current manuscript was to examine acquirer and market behavior surrounding a sample of international mergers and acquisitions. The first essay examined the existence of a private company discount and its connections to liquidity. It found that unlisted targets sell for less than their public counterparts, confirming earlier findings. The examination of a connection between the discount and liquidity mostly contradicted earlier studies (Officer 2007), depending on which subsample was selected. The second essay examined the existence of a target price runup preceding acquisitions announcements, existence of a substitution effect between runup and premium, and whether investor protection influenced the two. It confirmed the earlier findings of a significant runup preceding acquisition announcements, with the runup being more pronounced in those targets from weaker investor protection countries. Contrary to Schwert (1996), the study found a significant substitution effect between runup and premium, with the effect stronger if the acquirers are from countries with weak investor protection. The third essay examined acquirer stock price reaction to the three different components of the offer price: target's stand-alone valuation, pre-announcement runup and the offer premium. Each component was found to have an overall insignificant effect on the acquirer stock price in the overall sample. When the targets were from the countries with the weakest investor protection, the study found that the reaction to both the runup and stand-alone target valuation depend on both target and acquirer country investor protection. The study also found that when the targets were from the countries with the weakest investor protection, and only from those countries, acquirer stock price reacted negatively to any individual component of the offer price being higher. / Overall, the three studies confirm that behavior of both acquirer management and their stock markets i affected by the variance in investor protection among countries. / by Jurica Susnjara. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This essay focuses on firms that have publicly issued announcements that they were seeking a buyer. Managers of the firms in this unique sample display an idiosyncratic behavior by expressing a willingness to relinquish private benefits of control. The essay investigates the possible factors that may lead managers of these firms to issue such announcements, the effects of issuing "seeking buyer" announcements on shareholders' wealth, and the probability that such firms are later acquired. Results indicate that firms in poor financial condition, as well as larger and more homogeneous firms are more likely to issue a "seeking buyer" announcement. The interpretation of such results is that firms resort to issuing the announcement when a sale seems to be the means for survival, and when the sale is less likely without such an aggressive sale strategy. The announcements have a positive impact on shareholders' wealth, though they do not increase the probability of an acquisition. Essay 2: Shifts in risk as the result of corporate divestitures. The second essay investigates the effect of corporate divestitures on risk, while previous research focused exclusively on changes in shareholders' wealth. Specifically, this study explores changes in systematic, total and idiosyncratic risk as the result of spin-offs, carve-outs and asset sales. Additionally, I study factors that may explain the variation in risk changes as the result of the three types of divestitures. I document an increase in total and idiosyncratic risk for all types of divestitures, an increase in one of the measures of systematic risk for spin-offs and carve-outs and a reduction in systematic risk for asset sales. Change in risk is negatively correlated with the degree of focusing as the result of divestitures, and positively correlated with change in financial leverage. / by Marya Murdock. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

University of Macau / Faculty of Business Administration. / Department of Accounting and Information Management

Many factors contribute to the outcome of an acquisition; these factors arise from both the objective of the target and acquirer. This dissertation focuses on how the bidding strategy, acquirer and target characteristics impact the transaction. The first essay examines how the timing and size of the acquirer's bid for a U.S. target firm impacts their return. I find that successful first and low bid acquirers experience significantly larger returns than successful secondary and non-low bid acquirers. The cross-sectional analysis determines that higher levels of target institutional ownership and acquisitions completed prior to the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley result in reduced returns to the acquirer. In addition, the likelihood of a successful first bid acquirer increases with a revised bid and when the acquirer is both the first and low bid acquirer simultaneously. The likelihood of a successful first bid acquirer decreases as the number of bidders increases and as the bidding process lengthens. I also find that the likelihood of a successful low bid acquirer increases the longer the bidding process. The second essay examines how the timing and size of the acquirer's bid for an international target impacts their return. I find that successful first and low bid acquirers experience insignificant abnormal returns following the acquisition announcement. In addition, the likelihood of a successful first bid acquirer increases when the acquirer and target have similar cultures, with higher levels of target government corruption and when the acquirer is both the first and low bid acquirer simultaneously. The likelihood of a successful low bid acquirer decreases with higher levels of target government corruption. I also examine what factors affect the target premium and find that larger transactions and successful first bid acquirers increase the target premium. / Conversely, similar cultures and higher levels of government corruption, rule of law, bureaucracy, expropriation and ethnic tension decrease the premium to the target. Lastly, successful first and low bid acquirers experience statistically larger long run abnormal returns than successful secondary and non-low bid acquirers. The third essay examines how a stake accumulation by a conflicted blockholder influences the target's return. I find that targets experience positive cumulative abnormal returns upon the announcement of the Family, ESOP, Management and High Profile Investor stake accumulation. The cross-sectional analysis determines that privately negotiated transactions reduce the return to the target and that higher levels of stake accumulation are positively related to the target's return. Finally, targets experience negative abnormal long run returns following all four types of stake accumulation. / by Mina C. Glambosky. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

In Essay I, I analyze the impact of the target and bidder reference points on the probability of acquisition under general economic conditions as well as in strong/weak economic periods. I find that the target and the bidder reference points have a significant impact on the probability of a firm becoming a bidder or a target. While the target reference point also has a significant impact on the successful completion of the merger, the bidder reference point does not. In addition, I find that the target reference point is a significant determinant of management-led buyout mergers, while the bidder reference point has a significant impact on the probability of the bidder launching a hostile bid. In Essay II, I focus on the impact of the target and bidder reference points on the method of payment in the context of what the target seeks, what the bidder offers, and what the two parties use as their final method of payment. The analysis is performed under general economic conditions and in strong/weak economic periods. I find that while the target reference point has a strong impact on the method of payment agreed upon between the two parties, the bidder reference point does not. This is especially important given that the bidder reference point influences the consideration offered by the bidder but does not translate into a significant impact on the final method of payment. In essay III, I examine the impact of bidder reference point on public targets and the impact of bidder and target reference points on private firms. I analyze the aforementioned relationships under different economic conditions. Consistent with the literature on premium and public targets, I find that the target reference point has a strong and positive relationship with the premium paid for private firms. The relationship is stronger in weak economic times. / At the same time, I do not find any evidence that the bidder reference point exerts a significant influence on the premium paid for public firms. Interestingly, the relationship between the bidder reference point and the premium paid for private firms is negative and significant. / Inga Chira. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.