DOES CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MATTER IN THE MARKET RESPONSE TO MERGER ANNOUNCEMENTS? EVIDENCE FROM THE U.S. AND GERMANY

Abstract

German executives can make misleading statements regarding merger activities while U.S. executives must either state “no comment” or provide a truthful statement. Do these differences in corporate governance standards cause differences in the market response to merger announcements? A sample of German and U.S. firms that announced acquisition plans between 1995 and 1999 suggests that for smaller firms, merger news has no significant impact on cumulative abnormal returns for German firms but a significant positive impact for U.S. firms. Large German firms, however, have similar experiences to large U.S. firms, as do German firms listed on a U.S. stock exchange, which require greater disclosure requirements. Aside from the smaller-firm effect, the evidence is consistent with no price-relevant differences arising from the differences in corporate governance rules.

Citation

Lowengrub, P., Luedecke, T. and Melvin, M. (2004), "DOES CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MATTER IN THE MARKET RESPONSE TO MERGER ANNOUNCEMENTS? EVIDENCE FROM THE U.S. AND GERMANY", Hirschey, M., and, K.J. and Makhija, A.K. (Ed.) Corporate Governance (Advances in Financial Economics, Vol. 9), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 103-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1569-3732(04)09005-X