Mergers and acquisitions impact on short-term performance for acquiring firms : A study of the Nordic countries

The international literature on M&As is extensive, but evidence from the Nordic countries is scarce. The primary focus of this study is to examine whether the short-term performance of Nordic bidders is affected by the announcement of M&As conducted within the finance, insurance and real estate industry. This study analyzes 173 deals conducted between 01-01-2000 and 12-31-2018. An event study was conducted to isolate the abnormal returns resulting from M&A announcements, followed by a multiple regression analysis. The multiple regression analysis was used to gain further knowledge about performance factors influencing cumulative abnormal return (CAR), considering (1) payment method, (2) cross-border versus domestic deals, (3) market capitalization and (4) relative size. No evidence is found that the method of payment influences bidder abnormal return, whereas cross-border versus domestic transactions are found to influence Nordic countries differently. Market capitalization impact CAR negatively, moreover relative size is found to impact CAR positively in a majority of the cases