Abstract Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) have been around for a long time and has experienced waves of popularity during these times and they are very much an important part of today’s business world. M&As have also become increasingly international which can be due to the rising global competition. The popularity of cross-border M&As makes it important to look at M&As from an international perspective. One of the main reasons a company choose to M&A is growth (Lees, 2003) and there are several possible motives why a company chooses to grow through an M&A but the most common motive is to create synergy (DePhamphilis, 2005). Although synergy is one motive, according to the literature more M&As destroy value instead of creating it (Habeck, et al. 2000). This makes this subject interesting to study: especially the post-M&A phase since the integration process in this phase has been pointed out to be the riskiest, when creating synergy, but also the most crucial in order for a successful M&A (Habeck, et al. 2000; Shaver, 2006). Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how the management of a company create and realize synergies in the post-M&A process of a cross-border M&A. Method: In order to fulfil the purpose the case study approach was chosen. The empirical data was gathered through semi-structured face-to–face (except two telephone) interviews. This approach was used because the information needed to fulfil the purpose was of the character to be found in a qualitative way by going in-depth into the field of interest with a management team with extensive knowledge in this subject. Conclusion: Creating and realizing synergies is a long process on average 5-10 years. There is no manual for the M&A process only a general approach and each M&A process is customized. It was found that one cannot separate the pre-deal phase from the post-phase. An M&A process includes three different important parts; the strategic intent phase, the due diligence phase, and finally the integration phase. Key success factors for conducting an M&A are that you set up a special management group which will focus on the creation and realisation of synergies and that one focus on motivating and assisting managers through offer new exiting challenges.

Most people agree that the internationalization of RMB follows a three-step strategy, i.e. turn RMB into a settlement currency, investment currency, and reserve currency. The promulgation of the ¡§Administrative Rules on Pilot Program of RMB Settlement of Cross-border Trade Transactions¡¨ on July 2, 2009 demonstrated that China has officially begun to facilitate the use of currency in trade settlement. The start of RMB cross-border trade settlement not only stands for new function of RMB but also brings new opportunities. Therefore, a fundamental motivation for this research is to explore how will it influence correspondent banking business and what business opportunities it offer to correspondent banking business? This thesis takes the case of W Bank, a world leading correspondent banking service provider for example. By discussing value chain of the correspondent banking business and studying the business model of W Bank, we depict how W Bank can exploit the new business opportunity and conclude that W Bank, a U.S.-based bank, remains in a good position to offer RMB-denominated services.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the effectiveness of cross-border cooperation as a tool for local/regional development of underdeveloped border regions, and whether it is appropriate for Turkey&rsquo / s border regions. The basic statement is that the trajectories of intense economic relations do not always let cross-border co-operation / it can develop through supportive policies fed by the active participation of cross-border actors. The scope of this study is, - to examine changing theoretical ideas about borders and border relations, - to review some of the important changes affecting the cross-border cooperations / and the implications of transformations in the global mechanisms through new network relations determined within the multi-level governance approach, - to develop a framework for analysing the success of cross-border cooperation, - to discuss the cross-border co-operation trajectories through the world experiences and Turkish case, - to search for a new model This study will focus on a set of theoretical tools involving independent dimensions such as governance, economy and social structure. Along these theoretical perspectives, the importance of a cross-border co-operation for local/regional development will be emphasised through the case of Hopa-Batumi border region. Handling of this case will be an attempt to put forward the opportunities and barriers of a cross-border co-operation for Turkish border regions. This study is developed by the examination of theoretical literature, generating comparative analysis of world experiences with reference to available literature, and Turkish border regions executed with the newspapers archives and legal arrangements, and case study through in-depth interviews.

<p>This Bachelor’s thesis focuses on those terms that, from a Swedish perspective, have to be fulfilled to entitle deduction for definitive losses in a cross-border merger situation. The thesis analyses one of the ten rulings from the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court which were published in 2009.The ruling is analysed in the light of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the merger directive and the Court of Justice rulings in Marks & Spencer and Lidl. The purpose is to examine if the Swedish rules concerning cross-border mergers is compatible with the EU-law. The Swedish rules concerning mergers are found in chapter 37 in the Swedish income tax act. To enjoy the rights of the rules in chapter 37 the merger needs to be qualified. The criterion in 11 § stands out as a clear obstacle for the deduction of losses and is therefore examined thoroughly. It states that the transferor company needs to be taxable for some kind of activity in Sweden immediately before the merger. That criterion is not fulfilled if the company is situated in another member state. In the Marks & Spencer case, the Court of Justice stated that a rule which hinders deduction for losses which is considered to be definitive could be a possible breach of the freedom of establishment. The Swedish rules concerning qualified mergers in chapter 37 in the Swedish income tax act was questioned in the case RÅ 2009 ref 13. The criterion stated in § 11 was discussed first by the Swedish tax board and then by the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court as a possible breach of the freedom of establishment. It is in my opinion clear that when a loss is definitive the loss should be entitled to deduction, thus the 11 § could therefore constitute a breach of the freedom of establishment.</p>

This dissertation applies a variety of quantitative methods to European electricity market data to enable us to detect, understand, and eventually mitigate market imperfections. The empirical data indicate that market power and barriers to cross-border trade partially explain today’s market failures. Briefly, the five key findings of this dissertation are: First, we observe a decoupling between German electricity prices and fuel cost, even though British electricity prices are largely explained by short-run cost factors. Second, we demonstrate that rising prices of European Union emission allowances (EUA) have a greater impact on German wholesale electricity prices than falling EUA prices. Third, we reject the assumption of full integration of European wholesale electricity markets in 2002-2006; for several pairs of countries, the weaker hypothesis of (bilateral) convergence is accepted (i.e. efforts to develop a single European market for electricity have been only partially successful). Fourth, we observe that daily auction prices of scarce cross-border transmission capacities are insufficient to explain the persistence of international price differentials. Empirically, our findings confirm the insufficiency of explicit capacity auctions as stated in the theoretical literature. Fifth, we identify inefficiencies in the market behavior for the interconnector linking France and the United Kingdom (UK), for which several explanations, including market power, may be plausible.

In intra-group finance hybrid instruments allow for tailor-made form of finance. Hence hybrid finance is often used for international tax planning in multinational groups. Due to a lack of international tax harmonization or tax coordination qualification conflict can arise. A specific hybrid instrument is classified as debt in one country, and as equity in the other country. This may lead to double taxation. In the reverse case, double non-taxation can arise. Against this legal background one might expect that cross-border hybrid intra-group finance is advantageous in comparison to classical debt finance in case of double-non-taxation while it can be expected to be disadvantageous in the case of double taxation of the yield. Previous studies do not include qualification conflicts. Thus the question arises how qualification conflicts are affecting an intra-group finance decision. We examine effects of such qualification conflicts, resulting from the use of cross-border, intra-group hybrid finance, on the tax-advantageousness as compared to classical debt finance. The analysis is based on a binomial simulation model including economic and legal uncertainty. We show that the results of our analysis under uncertainty vary significantly when compared to the more obvious results under economic and legal certainty. (author´s abstract) / Series: Discussion Papers SFB International Tax Coordination

In this study we made an investigation on the transformation of economic structure of two border city regions, Saarbrücken and Copenhagen. The motivation for a comparative analysis is that they have similar industrial background. Both city regions were dynamic in the first half of the 20th century however in the second half they slowed down and gradually lost some of their industrial base. This decline of industry also brought some transformation of the economic structure. To some extent they followed similar trends such as decline of industry and rise of service sector. However there are differences as well, like the diversification of economy, dependence on industry, potential for attracting the creative class and so on. Another reason for comparison is that they are both border regions and have a potential to integrate with the other side of the border. Saarbrücken has increased its interaction with the French region Lorraine and the opening of the High Speed Railway East to Paris is likely to contribute to this interaction and may lead to integration. Copenhagen, too, has been increasing its interaction with Malmo and Lund on the Swedish side. Especially after the opening of the Öresund Bridge in 2000 this interaction even got accelerated and seems to evolve towards integration. We have discussed this cross-border interaction and tried to identify to what extend these regions integrated with the other side of the border. Furthermore we tried to reveal the similarities and the differences in this integration processes in both border regions. As theoretical approach we have chosen Kondratieff Wave Theory, Porter’s Cluster Theory and Florida’s Creative Class Theory as these theories seem to explain the developments in the two regions quite well. The Wave theory makes up the theoretical framework as it reflects a global shift in the western economies especially in the old industrial zones. The two other theories points out to more specific developments in two regions such as emergence of high tech sectors as a result of creative class. Our overall conclusion is that the two regions have similarities in their transformation but also differences. Every region has its own transformation story as some local elements are involved in the process. It is not possible to have identical developments; however regions can induce similar development with the more dynamic regions in case they create similar conditions for new sectors. And it is increasingly easier to do so as the globalisation makes the production factors more mobile. / Jan-Philipp Exner Hauptstrasse 84 66127 Saarbrücken-Klarenthal Fon: +49 6898 32459 Mail: jan-exner@web.de -------------------------------------- ERGIN YUCEL +46735623450 www.eyucel.com

In North America, deepening economic integration under free trade has led to the formation of several cross-border regions between Canada and the United States and such regions have become a significant focus for public policy research in Canada. A key question is whether, as a result of increased economic integration, there are tendencies towards policy and institutional convergence within cross-border regions; especially in areas viewed as critical in determining competitive economic advantage. One such area is employment relations. However, relatively little research has focused on how, or even if, employment relations are changing within cross-border regions. Previous studies comparing differences and similarities in employment relations between Canada and the United States have tended to focus on one of three scales: the nation, the firm, or the individual workplace. Here, the focus is on employment relations within a cross-border region. Such regions often share similar economic and social characteristics. Thus, we might expect that if cross-national employment relations are becoming more similar due to deepening economic integration this would manifest most clearly at this scale. The empirical focus is the forest products industry in the cross-border region of Cascadia, comprised of British Columbia, Washington state, and Oregon. Employment relations are compared across three components of the forest products industry: pulp and paper, solid wood processing, and logging. Data are organized around case studies of each component and focus on employment, wages, and productivity; the restructuring of firms and ownership; the labour movement; work practices, training, and the reproduction of the labour force. The dissertation concludes that employment relations in the pulp and paper and logging industries in Cascadia are becoming more similar cross-nationally, while those in solid wood processing are increasingly differentiated cross-nationally. Moreover, it concludes that employment relations in British Columbia’s solid wood processing and pulp and paper industry are becoming more similar, while employment relations in the PNW solid wood processing and pulp and paper industries are increasingly differentiated. The dissertation contributes to broader debates in economic geography by examining the tensions between national and sub-national political economic actors contribute to the production of scale and territory. / Thesis (Ph.D, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2010-05-28 11:48:30.745

This dissertation consists of three essays on cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As). The first essay studies horizontal and vertical investments between Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, while the second essay examines how investment patterns vary by country development. The third essay estimates the effect of merger policy reform on cross-border M&A activity in Europe. The first essay tests how well theories of horizontal and vertical foreign direct investment (FDI) explain observed patterns of cross-border M&As in OECD countries. Horizontal investment occurs when multinational firms produce in foreign countries to serve the foreign market, whereas vertical investment occurs when multinational firms source intermediate goods from foreign affiliates for final assembly and sales at home. The former is often used to displace exports when transport costs exceed local production costs, while the latter is often driven by cross-country factor price differentials. Little support is found for the traditional explanations of FDI as results indicate horizontal and vertical investments look much more similar than previously believed. The second essay challenges long-standing beliefs that the majority of FDI within the developed world is horizontal, whereas investments into developing nations are predominantly vertical. Developed-developed FDI is largely cross-border M&As and FDI into developing nations typically consists of greenfield investments. However, cross-border M&As are becoming more popular in developing countries and, contrary to previous beliefs, the proportion of horizontal and vertical investment is independent of country development. Results suggest trade costs have a stronger effect on developing countries, while no clear support is found for the idea that factor endowment drives vertical investments in developing nations. The third essay examines how reforms to European Commission Merger Regulation (ECMR) in 2004 affected cross-border M&A activity in Europe. The ECMR outlines competition rules and empowers the European Commission (EC) to block anti-competitive mergers adversely affecting the European market. Details of the reform suggest the law was expanded to cover more mergers, which is expected to have a non-positive effect on merger activity. Difference-in-differences results suggest the reform had no significant effect on cross-border merger activity in countries within the EC’s jurisdiction.

香港與澳門的教育系統被中國視為歐洲的傳承並受到高度的重視，尤其是對在中國的新城市菁英而言。 隨著英語教育的需求增加，香港與澳門的大學在中國大陸學生招生方面歷經快速的成長，中國學生在特別行政區域（SARs）的社會中占有愈來愈大的存在比例。台灣在2011年開始開放陸生來台後，也成中國學生留學的新興目的地。此份研究主要分析中國大陸之學生在抵達香港、澳門與台灣前後對移入地的觀點，定義中國菁英學生在這些移入社會的新人口群體，並討論此新群體對其留學目的地與及中國所具有的社會意涵。 本研究透過質性研究方法與資料，發現選擇就讀於特別行政區域(SARs)的中國大陸學生，是因為地緣位置接近、文化、語言相同性及相對的教育價值等因素。這些中國學生也被視為特別行政區域(SARs)及海外的潛在移民者。本研究亦透過問卷訪問在台灣就讀的陸生，這些在台陸生仍是相對未被深入研究的人口群體。此份研究成果適合用於教育學、移民學以及社會學，亦對兩岸學術研究者具有重要的參考價值。 / Hong Kong and Macau's education systems are perceived to be part of their European legacy which is highly regarded in mainland China, especially among China's new urban elite. Along with a consistent increase in demand for an English education, universities in Hong Kong and Macau are henceforth experiencing rapid growth in enrollment of students from mainland China, who are ever more present in the Special Administrative Regions' (SARs) societies. Moreover, mainland Chinese students studying in Taiwanese universities just recently commenced in 2011 and it is a policy in its infancy. This study aims to analyze mainland Chinese students' perception of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan before and after arriving, define a new demographic of elite mainland Chinese students in these three regions, and draw potential social implications these students have for their respective host societies and Chinese society. This study used qualitative research methods and data to confirm that mainland students who chose to study in the SARs because of closer location, cultural and linguistic familiarity and relative value of education. They were also considered potential immigrants to the SARs and abroad. This study provides insight using primary source data on mainland students in Taiwan, which remains a relatively un-researched demographic. This study is applicable to disciplines such as education studies, immigration, and sociology. Information from this study may also be of interest to those who study cross-strait studies, as mainland Chinese students studying in Taiwanese universities just recently commenced in 2011 and it is a policy in its infancy. Hence, this may have implications for future cross-strait policy changes.