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.

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

Cross-border Merger and Acquisitions (M&As) are an increasingly important strategy adopted by firms in order to create value in fiercely competitive global markets. Cross-border M&A value creation, that is, wealth creation for shareholders from cross-border M&As, is therefore of considerable theoretical and practical importance. However, our understanding of the sources of cross-border M&A value creation remains limited. Researchers have found that the most commonly researched variables have little effect on cross-border M&A value creation. We therefore still do not understand the processes behind cross-border M&As. In this is dissertation I examine the main effects of host country regulatory, economic and physical infrastructure institutions on cross-border M&A value creation. I further examine the moderating effects of host country political institutions on the relationship between host country regulatory institutions and cross-border M&A value creation. Moreover, I investigate the effects of institutional distance between host and home country on cross-border M&A value creation. I argue that the effects of institutional distance (regulatory and economic distance) on cross-border M&A value creation are not symmetric, but rather the effects are contingent upon the direction of the distance. My hypotheses are tested on a sample of 6141 cross-border M&As between 1995 and 2003. Results of this analysis show that acquirers are more likely to create value by acquiring targets in countries with less advanced regulatory institutions. Further, my results indicate that host country political institutions positively moderate the relationship between host country regulatory institutions and cross-border M&A value creation. Host country economic institutions have an inverted U-shaped relationship with cross-border M&A value creation, and host country physical infrastructure institutions have a positive relationship with cross-border M&A value creation. Additionally, results show that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between institutional distance and cross-border M&A value creation. The findings suggest that the effects of regulatory and economic institutional distance on cross-border M&A value creation are not symmetric. The effects are contingent upon the direction of the distance. That is whether the level of host country institutions is higher or lower than that of home country institutions. Implications for management and public policy are discussed.

Abstract Research on HRM of banking industry since the law of Financial Holding Company has been put into practice are few. The purpose of this study is to explore the correlation among Industrial Relations Climate, Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intention in the banking industry. Based on 507 questionnaires from 51 bank branches in Taiwan, this study finds several important results. Findings¡G ¡]1¡^Positive relationships are found between Industrial Relations Climate and Job Satisfaction, Organizational Identification; and negative relationships are found between Industrial Relations Climate and Instrumental Commitment, Turnover Intention. ¡]2¡^Job Satisfaction is found positively related to Organizational Identification; and negative relationships are found between Job Satisfaction and Instrumental Commitment, Turnover Intention; but the result is only partial. ¡]3¡^Employees in Financial Holding Company are higher Industrial Relations Climate, Salary Satisfaction, Promotion Satisfaction, Organizational Identification and lower Turnover Intention than Employees not in Financial Holding Company. ¡]4¡^Employees in merging company are lowerer Industrial Relations Climate, Job Satisfaction, Organizational Identification and higher Turnover Intention than Employees in non-merger company. ¡]5¡^Employees in merged company are lower organizational identification and higher turnover intention than employees in non-merger company.

<p>Scientific problem: In order to maintain a competitive position in the market, companies need to create an environment of sustained development. Growing companies basically have two choices: expand internally, known as organic growth, or expand externally by a merger or acquisition (M&A). It is widely known that in almost all acquisitions the price paid by the acquiring firm tends to be much higher than the market value of the target firm before the bid, this is called an acquisition premium. There are different ways of financing an acquisition, for example with cash or stock. Previous research within this topic have concluded the M&As follow the market, as well as premiums. Therefore, an assumption made by the authors is that when there is a boom in the market, the stock exchange quota-tion takes a certain movement and the number of acquisitions that are made increases, as well as the premiums paid, and further to check if the means of payment changes whether there is a bull or bear market.</p><p>Purpose: “The general aim of this thesis is to examine acquisitions on the Swedish market in order to estimate the relation between the OMXS index and the number of acquisition bids, the acquisitions pre-mium and the means of payment.”</p><p>Method: To investigate whether a relation between the OMXS and the amount of take-over bids, simple regression analyses was the preferred model, having the bids as being de-pendent upon market performance of the OMXS index. This way, any significant lag ef-fect, the time it takes for a bidder to present a bid offer, could be recognized and used as a benchmark. This model was carried on to the remaining questions as well; whether premi-ums are affected by the stock market, and which way the acquisitions was financed, cash or stock. The time period selected for data collection was 1994 to 2004, allowing the authors a wide enough time-span to interpret at least one bull, and one bear market. The model will be based upon secondary data of market quotes and a quantitative approach will be util-ized.</p><p>Results: The authors claim that a relation between the number of acquisition bids and market movement does exist. This evidence shows that an important decision as the one of deciding whether or not to merge or acquire another firm, might not be as rational as tho-ught. Instead, it is influenced on the environment around it, with the OMXS index as one of them. When it comes to the two remaining questions, if premiums and means of pay-ment are affected by the OMXS index, the obtained answers do not provide a positive rela-tion. And thus, this thesis cannot support earlier studies that state that a relation is present.</p>

Scientific problem: In order to maintain a competitive position in the market, companies need to create an environment of sustained development. Growing companies basically have two choices: expand internally, known as organic growth, or expand externally by a merger or acquisition (M&amp;A). It is widely known that in almost all acquisitions the price paid by the acquiring firm tends to be much higher than the market value of the target firm before the bid, this is called an acquisition premium. There are different ways of financing an acquisition, for example with cash or stock. Previous research within this topic have concluded the M&amp;As follow the market, as well as premiums. Therefore, an assumption made by the authors is that when there is a boom in the market, the stock exchange quota-tion takes a certain movement and the number of acquisitions that are made increases, as well as the premiums paid, and further to check if the means of payment changes whether there is a bull or bear market. Purpose: “The general aim of this thesis is to examine acquisitions on the Swedish market in order to estimate the relation between the OMXS index and the number of acquisition bids, the acquisitions pre-mium and the means of payment.” Method: To investigate whether a relation between the OMXS and the amount of take-over bids, simple regression analyses was the preferred model, having the bids as being de-pendent upon market performance of the OMXS index. This way, any significant lag ef-fect, the time it takes for a bidder to present a bid offer, could be recognized and used as a benchmark. This model was carried on to the remaining questions as well; whether premi-ums are affected by the stock market, and which way the acquisitions was financed, cash or stock. The time period selected for data collection was 1994 to 2004, allowing the authors a wide enough time-span to interpret at least one bull, and one bear market. The model will be based upon secondary data of market quotes and a quantitative approach will be util-ized. Results: The authors claim that a relation between the number of acquisition bids and market movement does exist. This evidence shows that an important decision as the one of deciding whether or not to merge or acquire another firm, might not be as rational as tho-ught. Instead, it is influenced on the environment around it, with the OMXS index as one of them. When it comes to the two remaining questions, if premiums and means of pay-ment are affected by the OMXS index, the obtained answers do not provide a positive rela-tion. And thus, this thesis cannot support earlier studies that state that a relation is present.

De höga beloppen och den växande populariteten associerade med företagsförvärv har lett till många försök inom forskningen att förutsäga vilka företag som blir förvärvade. Denna studie ämnar undersöka förvärvsmarknaden på Nasdaq OMX Nordic under tidsperioden 2002-2011. Syftet är att studera om marknadsvärdering, finansiella karaktärsdrag samt ägarstruktur påverkar sannolikheten att företag blir förvärvade. Populationen utgörs av 81 förvärvade företag under den studerade tidsperioden samt en kontrollgrupp av samma antal. Resultaten visar att marknadsvärdering och finansiella karaktärsdrag inte skiljer sig mellan förvärvade och icke-förvärvade företag och därför inte kan användas som instrument för förutsägelse av förvärvssannolikhet. Däremot kan vi, i linje med tidigare forskning på andra marknader, bevisa att företag där den grundande familjen är en stark ägare, med 10% av de röstberättigade aktierna som minimigräns, blir förvärvade i en lägre utsträckning.

A volatilidade tem se mostrado como um dos mais relevantes conceitos nos estudos de finanças, pois está associada diretamente ao conceito de risco. A volatilidade pode ser influenciada por diversos fatores como, por exemplo, eventos corporativos. Dentre esses eventos, destacam-se as fusões e aquisições (F&A), as quais se apresentam como um contexto interessante para realização de estudos voltados para a observação de possíveis mudanças no comportamento da volatilidade quando da sua ocorrência. Dessa forma, o objetivo do estudo foi investigar o comportamento da volatilidade dos retornos das ações de empresas que passaram por processos de fusão e aquisição, compreendendo tanto o seu anúncio quanto a sua conclusão. Após a adoção de critérios de elegibilidade, foram estudados 33 eventos relativos a 23 ativos de 19 empresas. A metodologia para a estimação da volatilidade compreendeu principalmente o uso do modelo GARCH (Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity), em um procedimento similar a um estudo de evento. Como resultado, observou-se que, de uma forma global, tanto o anúncio da operação de F&A quanto a sua conclusão não produziu impacto na volatilidade. Adicionalmente, ao se observar o impacto no risco, medido pelo beta, observou-se que o anúncio produziu impacto no beta de 30 dias, enquanto a conclusão da operação proporcionou mudança no beta tanto de 30 quanto de 60 dias. No entanto, ao se tentar relacionar os resultados com algumas características dos eventos (como: tipo da ação, setor de atuação, tipo da operação, papel desempenhado na operação e tempo transcorrido entre o anúncio da operação e a sua conclusão) foi observado que estas não possuíam nenhum poder explicativo. / Volatility has been considered a relevant concept in finance due to its association with the risk concept. Volatility can be influenced by many factors such as corporate events. Among these events, we can emphasize mergers&acquisitions (M&A), that has become an interesting context for studies about the volatility behavior and its changes. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the behavior of the volatility of stock returns of companies that participated of mergers&acquisitions during the the announcement and the conclusion periods. It was determined eligibility criteria that result a sample with 23 stocks from 19 companies. The methodology for volatility estimation involved mainly the GARCH (Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity) model and the procedure was similar to event study. The results reveal that, in general, the announcement of M&A and its conclusion had no effects on the volatility. In addition, the observation of the risk impact, measured by beta, revealed an effect on the 30 days’ beta and the conclusion caused an impact on the 30 and 60 days’ beta. Finally, the observation about possible relationship between results and characteristics (like stock type, sector, event type, role played in the event and time passed between announce and conclusion) revealed no explanation power.

A volatilidade tem se mostrado como um dos mais relevantes conceitos nos estudos de finanças, pois está associada diretamente ao conceito de risco. A volatilidade pode ser influenciada por diversos fatores como, por exemplo, eventos corporativos. Dentre esses eventos, destacam-se as fusões e aquisições (F&A), as quais se apresentam como um contexto interessante para realização de estudos voltados para a observação de possíveis mudanças no comportamento da volatilidade quando da sua ocorrência. Dessa forma, o objetivo do estudo foi investigar o comportamento da volatilidade dos retornos das ações de empresas que passaram por processos de fusão e aquisição, compreendendo tanto o seu anúncio quanto a sua conclusão. Após a adoção de critérios de elegibilidade, foram estudados 33 eventos relativos a 23 ativos de 19 empresas. A metodologia para a estimação da volatilidade compreendeu principalmente o uso do modelo GARCH (Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity), em um procedimento similar a um estudo de evento. Como resultado, observou-se que, de uma forma global, tanto o anúncio da operação de F&A quanto a sua conclusão não produziu impacto na volatilidade. Adicionalmente, ao se observar o impacto no risco, medido pelo beta, observou-se que o anúncio produziu impacto no beta de 30 dias, enquanto a conclusão da operação proporcionou mudança no beta tanto de 30 quanto de 60 dias. No entanto, ao se tentar relacionar os resultados com algumas características dos eventos (como: tipo da ação, setor de atuação, tipo da operação, papel desempenhado na operação e tempo transcorrido entre o anúncio da operação e a sua conclusão) foi observado que estas não possuíam nenhum poder explicativo. / Volatility has been considered a relevant concept in finance due to its association with the risk concept. Volatility can be influenced by many factors such as corporate events. Among these events, we can emphasize mergers&acquisitions (M&A), that has become an interesting context for studies about the volatility behavior and its changes. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the behavior of the volatility of stock returns of companies that participated of mergers&acquisitions during the the announcement and the conclusion periods. It was determined eligibility criteria that result a sample with 23 stocks from 19 companies. The methodology for volatility estimation involved mainly the GARCH (Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity) model and the procedure was similar to event study. The results reveal that, in general, the announcement of M&A and its conclusion had no effects on the volatility. In addition, the observation of the risk impact, measured by beta, revealed an effect on the 30 days’ beta and the conclusion caused an impact on the 30 and 60 days’ beta. Finally, the observation about possible relationship between results and characteristics (like stock type, sector, event type, role played in the event and time passed between announce and conclusion) revealed no explanation power.

abstract: This thesis investigates whether mergers and acquisitions (M&As) help increase the competitive advantage and core competency of Chinese securities companies. Although M&As among Chinese securities companies were almost exclusively guided by the Chinese government in the earlier years, they have increasingly become more market-driven in recent years. Many large Chinese securities companies have engaged in horizontal mergers, cross-industry mergers, and cross-border mergers to increase their market positions. However, there is little up-to-date evidence about how these market-driven M&As influence the competitive advantage and core competency of securities companies in China. I seek to fill this gap by conducting a systematic analysis about whether M&As increase the core competency of the acquiring companies using data collected over a five-year window from 2010 to 2014. On the basis of prior research findings and the current situation of the Chinese securities industry, I first develop a theoretical model about the sources of competitive advantage for Chinese securities companies, and then compile a comprehensive list of observable indicators that can be used to assess a Chinese securities company’s core competency. Next, I conduct a quantitative analysis to assess the core competency and relative market positions of the leading Chinese securities companies using data from 2010 to 2014. Overall, the results suggest that market-driven M&As increases the core competency of the acquiring securities companies. I then conduct four in-depth case analyses to better understand the mechanisms through which M&As can help increase the acquiring firms' core competency. I conclude with a discussion of the findings and their implications for Chinese securities companies and the overseeing governmental agencies. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2016