The effect of time on merger motivations

The mid 1980s and the mid 1990s both saw an incredible amount of merger activity, however, the characteristics of both were very different. Research seems to inidcate that the 1980s merger wave was primarily stimulated by the desire to eliminate corporate inefficiencies. Acquirers of this time period were highly leveraged and encountered a great deal of hostility from target management. After a short decrease in merger activity the mid 1990s intensified to number comparable to those of the 1980s. Noticeable absent was the hostility, leverage and inefficiency that was so prevalent in the 1980s. Instead the 1990s mergers were friendlier and were not as leveraged. In order to determine the origin of these differences the characteristics of targets from both time periods are examined and further research was conducted into the macroeconomic conditions. The results indicate the beneficial affects of the 1980s merger wave indirectly affected the stimulus and the characteristics of the 1990s