Foreign investor reactions to risk and uncertainty in antitrust: US merger policy investigations and the deterrence of foreign acquirer presence

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Clougherty, Joseph A.; Zhang, Nan
• 署名单位: University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; California State University System; California State University Stanislaus
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2506
• DOI: 10.1057/s41267-020-00338-6
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 454-478
• 关键词: cross-border mergers and acquisitions; policy-oriented studies; MNE-host-country relationships; BUSINESS; government interaction and relationships

摘要

Motivated by the potential for antitrust and competition policies to be protectionist in effect, we formulate the theoretical prior that merger policy deters foreign acquirer participation in local M&A markets. The policy risk and policy uncertainty characteristic of merger review may negatively affect foreign acquirers more so than domestic acquirers, thereby disadvantaging foreign acquisitions of local firms and deterring future cross-border investment activities. We test this prior by employing sector-level data on U.S. merger policy investigations and foreign acquirer presence in U.S. M&A markets over the 2002-2017 period. Our panel-data methodological approach indicates that the risk and uncertainty characteristic of U.S. merger policy disproportionately deters the acquisition activities of foreign investors. The empirical results also suggest that the application of competition and merger policies in other national jurisdictions - where there is less of a strong commitment to antitrust principles - might also be effectively protectionist.