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Economic impact of political barriers to cross-border acquisitions: An empirical study of CNOOC's unsuccessful takeover of Unocal

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  • Wan, Kam-Ming
  • Wong, Ka-fu

Abstract

In 2005, the US Congress challenged the acquisition by CNOOC (a Chinese state-owned enterprise) of Unocal (a US firm). This challenge creates a political barrier for foreign companies to acquire US oil companies. This paper examines the stock price reaction of US oil companies to this political opposition. Using an event study methodology, we find that this political barrier resulted in a substantial decline in the market value of US oil companies. For a period of 44Â days, during which six anti-CNOOC-takeover political events occurred, the cumulative decline in the market value of a portfolio of 13 US oil refining firms was $47.5Â billion and that of a portfolio of 66 US oil and gas exploration firms was $11.4Â billion. This study is the first to analyze and quantify the stock price reaction of US non-merging firms to political barriers to cross-border acquisitions. It also has a policy implication regarding the recent enactment of the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007.

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  • Wan, Kam-Ming & Wong, Ka-fu, 2009. "Economic impact of political barriers to cross-border acquisitions: An empirical study of CNOOC's unsuccessful takeover of Unocal," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 447-468, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:15:y:2009:i:4:p:447-468
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    21. Narendar V., Rao & K.S., Reddy, 2017. "Guest Editorial: Institutional role, the Market for corporate control and Firm performance," MPRA Paper 80235, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Grinblatt, Mark & Wan, Kam-Ming, 2020. "State pricing, effectively complete markets, and corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    23. Jing Li & Klaus E Meyer & Hua Zhang & Yuan Ding, 2018. "Diplomatic and corporate networks: Bridges to foreign locations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(6), pages 659-683, August.
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    25. Reddy, Kotapati Srinivasa, 2015. "Why do Cross-border Merger/Acquisition Deals become Delayed, or Unsuccessful? – A Cross-Case Analysis in the Dynamic Industries," MPRA Paper 63940, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2015.

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