Multilatinas and value creation from cross-border acquisitions: An event study approach

Abstract

The central proposition of this paper is to assess the performance of cross-border acquisitions made by Multilatinas. Applying the event study method to a sample of 607 announcements of acquisitions during the period 1989-2011 by 182 Multilatinas from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, we conclude that: (a) on average, these announcements have a neutral impact on the short-term returns to acquiring companies' shareholders; (b) cross-sectional analysis reveals that relative size of the deals have a negative and significant effect on investors' reactions and; (c) unlike the institutional distance between home and host countries, cultural distance matters, since it has a negative and significant effect on the perceptions that investors have regarding the expected economic impact of acquirers' cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) decisions. Inasmuch as the market rationality assumption that underlies the event study method has been questioned, future research lines are proposed in order to search for alternative long-term performance constructs concerning M&A processes in general that can: (a) shed light on the reality of value creation (and destruction) from cross-border acquisitions made by Multilatinas; and (b) contribute to strategy, international business and M&A theories and practice.