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Threatening to Buy: Private Equity Buyouts and Antitrust Policy

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Abstract

Private equity firms (PE firms) have become common owners of established firms in concentrated markets. We show that the threat of a PE acquisition can trigger incumbent mergers in an otherwise mergerstable industry. This can help antitrust authorities maximize consumer surplus because previously privately unprofitable – but consumer surplus-enhancing – mergers now take place. We thus predict that merger waves among incumbents should follow the development of a local PE industry.

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  • Norbäck, Pehr-Johan & Persson, Lars & Tåg, Joacim, 2018. "Threatening to Buy: Private Equity Buyouts and Antitrust Policy," Working Paper Series 1199, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1199
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    1. Chiara Fumagalli & Massimo Motta & Lars Persson, 2009. "On The Anticompetitive Effect Of Exclusive Dealing When Entry By Merger Is Possible," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 785-811, December.
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    6. Martin Olsson & Joacim Tåg, 2017. "Private Equity, Layoffs, and Job Polarization," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(3), pages 697-754.
    7. Albert Banal‐Estañol & Marco Ottaviani, 2006. "Mergers with Product Market Risk," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(3), pages 577-608, September.
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    9. Baziki, Selva Bahar & Norbäck, Pehr-Johan & Persson, Lars & Tåg, Joacim, 2017. "Cross-border acquisitions and restructuring: Multinational enterprises and private equity-firms," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 166-184.
    10. Pehr-Johan Norbäck & Lars Persson, 2009. "The Organization of the Innovation Industry: Entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists, and Oligopolists," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 7(6), pages 1261-1290, December.
    11. Steven N. Kaplan & Per Stromberg, 2009. "Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 23(1), pages 121-146, Winter.
    12. Sven-Olof Fridolfsson & Johan Stennek, 2005. "Why Mergers Reduce Profits And Raise Share Prices-A Theory Of Preemptive Mergers," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 3(5), pages 1083-1104, September.
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    15. Derrien, François & Frésard, Laurent & Slabik, Victoria & Valta, Philip, 2017. "The Negative Effects of Mergers and Acquisitions on the Value of Rivals," HEC Research Papers Series 1204, HEC Paris, revised 04 Oct 2017.
    16. Raymond Deneckere & Carl Davidson, 1985. "Incentives to Form Coalitions with Bertrand Competition," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 16(4), pages 473-486, Winter.
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    Cited by:

    1. Koptyug, Nikita & Persson, Lars & Tåg, Joacim, 2020. "Should we worry about the decline of the public corporation? A brief survey of the economics and external effects of the stock market," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    2. Elert, Niklas & Henrekson, Magnus, 2021. "Innovative Entrepreneurship as a Collaborative Effort: An Institutional Framework," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 17(4), pages 330-435, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Antitrust policy; Mergers and acquisitions; Private equity; Temporary ownership;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • L40 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - General

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