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Antitrust merger review costs and acquirer lobbying

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  • Fidrmuc, Jana P.
  • Roosenboom, Peter
  • Zhang, Eden Quxian

Abstract

Documenting the US antitrust review process for M&As in rich detail, we unveil that regulatory costs and risks are significant and that mitigating these risks via lobbying by acquirers may benefit shareholders. Our results show that an adverse antitrust review outcome leads to a decline of 2.8% in acquirer firm value. Further, we show that lobbying before deal announcements is associated with more favorable review outcomes. Finally, higher pre-announcement lobbying is valued by shareholders, especially in horizontal deals and deals with a larger expected change in market concentration, which have higher antitrust concerns. However, this positive value effect of lobbying applies only in firms with strong corporate governance. Our results highlight the role of political connections and lobbying for corporate investments when facing regulatory costs and risks.

Suggested Citation

  • Fidrmuc, Jana P. & Roosenboom, Peter & Zhang, Eden Quxian, 2018. "Antitrust merger review costs and acquirer lobbying," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 72-97.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:51:y:2018:i:c:p:72-97
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2018.05.001
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    2. D. G. DeBoskey & Yutao Li & Gerald J. Lobo & Yan Luo, 2021. "Corporate political transparency and the cost of debt," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 111-145, July.
    3. Aktas, Nihat & Baros, Aleksandra & Croci, Ettore, 2022. "Corporate divestitures around acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    4. Basnet, Anup & Davis, Frederick & Walker, Thomas & Zhao, Kun, 2021. "The effect of securities class action lawsuits on mergers and acquisitions," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    5. Alessandro Zattoni & Emmanouil Dedoulis & Stergios Leventis & Hans Van Ees, 2020. "Corporate governance and institutions—A review and research agenda," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 465-487, November.
    6. Girard, Alexandre & Gnabo, Jean-Yves & Londoño van Rutten, Rodrigo, 2023. "Firm performance and the crowd effect in lobbying competition," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mergers and acquisitions; Antitrust; Corporate lobbying;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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