IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v96y2024ipbs1057521924006094.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of ESG distance on mergers and acquisitions

Author

Listed:
  • Tang, Ning
  • Xu, Xiaodong
  • Hsu, Yuan-Teng
  • Lin, Chih-Yung

Abstract

In this study, we utilize the most recent ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) data to calculate the ESG distance between acquiring and target firms, subsequently assessing its impact on merger outcomes. Our analysis suggests that deals with a larger ESG distance are associated with reduced cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) around the deal announcements. We find that, following the Kyoto Protocol in 2005, counterparties with larger ESG distances are less favored by investors. This suggests that the market perceives significant ESG distance as a potential impediment to seamless post-merger integration. Notably, a pronounced acquirer-target ESG distance diminishes the propensity for mergers, especially when target firms with more bargaining power during the negotiation. In the long-term performance of acquiring firms, we discern that ESG disparity reduces firm performance and increases crash risk.

Suggested Citation

  • Tang, Ning & Xu, Xiaodong & Hsu, Yuan-Teng & Lin, Chih-Yung, 2024. "The impact of ESG distance on mergers and acquisitions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:96:y:2024:i:pb:s1057521924006094
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103677
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521924006094
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103677?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pascual Berrone & Andrea Fosfuri & Liliana Gelabert, 2017. "Does Greenwashing Pay Off? Understanding the Relationship Between Environmental Actions and Environmental Legitimacy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 363-379, August.
    2. Yunbiao Ma & Xiaotong Yang & Yuan Zhang & Bing Zhu, 2024. "Product Market Competition and Stock Price Crash Risk: Evidence from China," The International Journal of Accounting (TIJA), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 59(03), pages 1-37, September.
    3. Hao Liang & Luc Renneboog, 2017. "On the Foundations of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(2), pages 853-910, April.
    4. Riikka M Sarala & Eero Vaara, 2010. "Cultural differences, convergence, and crossvergence as explanations of knowledge transfer in international acquisitions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(8), pages 1365-1390, October.
    5. Doukas, John A. & Zhang, Rongyao, 2021. "Managerial ability, corporate social culture, and M&As," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Officer, Micah S., 2007. "The price of corporate liquidity: Acquisition discounts for unlisted targets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 571-598, March.
    7. Darwin Choi & Zhenyu Gao & Wenxi Jiang, 2020. "Attention to Global Warming," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1112-1145.
    8. Heng An & Qun Wu & Zhonghua Wu, 2016. "REIT Crash Risk and Institutional Investors," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 527-558, November.
    9. Chen, Joseph & Hong, Harrison & Stein, Jeremy C., 2001. "Forecasting crashes: trading volume, past returns, and conditional skewness in stock prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 345-381, September.
    10. Lee, Kyeong Hun & Mauer, David C. & Xu, Emma Qianying, 2018. "Human capital relatedness and mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(1), pages 111-135.
    11. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    12. Jesse A Ellis & Sara B Moeller & Frederik P Schlingemann & René M Stulz, 2017. "Portable country governance and cross-border acquisitions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(2), pages 148-173, February.
    13. Boone, Audra & Uysal, Vahap B., 2020. "Reputational concerns in the market for corporate control," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    14. Carhart, Mark M, 1997. "On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 57-82, March.
    15. Jiahua Xu & Lan Zou, 2019. "The impact of CEO pay and its disclosure on stock price crash risk: evidence from China," China Finance Review International, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(4), pages 479-497, July.
    16. Jan Bena & Kai Li, 2014. "Corporate Innovations and Mergers and Acquisitions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(5), pages 1923-1960, October.
    17. Deng, Xin & Kang, Jun-koo & Low, Buen Sin, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and stakeholder value maximization: Evidence from mergers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(1), pages 87-109.
    18. Kale, Jayant R. & Kini, Omesh & Ryan, Harley E., 2003. "Financial Advisors and Shareholder Wealth Gains in Corporate Takeovers," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(3), pages 475-501, September.
    19. Arouri, Mohamed & Gomes, Mathieu & Pukthuanthong, Kuntara, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility and M&A uncertainty," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 176-198.
    20. Ronald W. Masulis & Cong Wang & Fei Xie, 2007. "Corporate Governance and Acquirer Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1851-1889, August.
    21. Zhao, Rui & Zhang, Dayong & Guo, Mengmeng, 2024. "Do natural disasters affect stock price crash risk? Evidence from emerging markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    22. Lawrence, Edward R. & Raithatha, Mehul & Rodriguez, Ivan, 2021. "The effect of cultural and institutional factors on initiation, completion, and duration of cross-border acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    23. Graham, Michael & Walter, Terry S. & Yawson, Alfred & Zhang, Huizhong, 2017. "The value-added role of industry specialist advisors in M&As," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 81-104.
    24. Matthew Rhodes‐Kropf & David T. Robinson, 2008. "The Market for Mergers and the Boundaries of the Firm," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(3), pages 1169-1211, June.
    25. Hutton, Amy P. & Marcus, Alan J. & Tehranian, Hassan, 2009. "Opaque financial reports, R2, and crash risk," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 67-86, October.
    26. Bereskin, Fred & Byun, Seong K. & Officer, Micah S. & Oh, Jong-Min, 2018. "The Effect of Cultural Similarity on Mergers and Acquisitions: Evidence from Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(5), pages 1995-2039, October.
    27. Philipp Krueger & Zacharias Sautner & Laura T Starks, 2020. "The Importance of Climate Risks for Institutional Investors," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1067-1111.
    28. Kim, Yongtae & Li, Haidan & Li, Siqi, 2014. "Corporate social responsibility and stock price crash risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-13.
    29. Andrey Golubov & Dimitris Petmezas & Nickolaos G. Travlos, 2012. "When It Pays to Pay Your Investment Banker: New Evidence on the Role of Financial Advisors in M&As," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(1), pages 271-312, February.
    30. Riikka M. Sarala & Eero Vaara, 2010. "Cultural differences, convergence, and crossvergence as explanations of knowledge transfer in international acquisitions," Post-Print hal-02312553, HAL.
    31. Gerard Hoberg & Gordon Phillips, 2010. "Product Market Synergies and Competition in Mergers and Acquisitions: A Text-Based Analysis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(10), pages 3773-3811, October.
    32. Xiaojia Zheng & Xuebin Zhang & Ge Yang & Liqing Wang, 2024. "Product market competition, corporate governance and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(12), pages 1150-1158, July.
    33. Gillan, Stuart L. & Koch, Andrew & Starks, Laura T., 2021. "Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    34. JuXian Wang & Tianyi Dong & Jinbu Zhai, 2023. "Goodwill Impairment, Loss Avoidance Effects and Subsequent Corporate M&A Decisions," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(2), pages 479-497, January.
    35. El-Khatib, Rwan & Fogel, Kathy & Jandik, Tomas, 2015. "CEO network centrality and merger performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(2), pages 349-382.
    36. Chenyu Zhang & Ju Mao & Xinshu Mao, 2024. "M&A compensation commitment and stock price crash risk: evidence from China," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(5), pages 757-787, September.
    37. Hong, Harrison & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2009. "The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 15-36, July.
    38. Kathleen Fuller & Jeffry Netter & Mike Stegemoller, 2002. "What Do Returns to Acquiring Firms Tell Us? Evidence from Firms That Make Many Acquisitions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(4), pages 1763-1793, August.
    39. Huang, Kuo-Jui & Bui, Dien Giau & Hsu, Yuan-Teng & Lin, Chih-Yung, 2024. "The ESG washing in banks: Evidence from the syndicated loan market," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liang, Peng & Liang, Lin & Tang, Xinhui, 2024. "The impact of digital-oriented mergers and acquisitions on enterprise labor demand," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Renneboog, Luc & Vansteenkiste, Cara, 2019. "Failure and success in mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 650-699.
    2. Hussain, Tanveer & Shams, Syed, 2022. "Pre-deal differences in corporate social responsibility and acquisition performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    3. An, Suwei, 2023. "Essays on incentive contracts, M&As, and firm risk," Other publications TiSEM dd97d2f5-1c9d-47c5-ba62-f, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    4. Thomas J. Chemmanur & Dimitrios Gounopoulos & Panagiotis Koutroumpis & Yu Zhang, 2022. "CSR and Firm Survival: Evidence from the Climate and Pandemic Crises," Working Papers 935, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    5. Wang, Zhenkun & Lu, Weijie & Liu, Min, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility overinvestment in mergers and acquisitions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Yang Zhang, 2018. "Corporate Governance Effects on Risk Management and Shareholder Wealth: The Case of Mergers and Acquisitions," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 4-2018, January-A.
    7. Fairhurst, Douglas (DJ) & Greene, Daniel T., 2022. "Too much of a good thing? Corporate social responsibility and the takeover market," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    8. D'Souza, Reagan & Ho, Choy Yeing (Chloe) & Yang, Joey W., 2024. "The cost of corporate social irresponsibility for acquirers," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    9. Alexandridis, George & Hoepner, Andreas G.F. & Huang, Zhenyi & Oikonomou, Ioannis, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility culture and international M&As," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    10. Leon Zolotoy & Don O’Sullivan & Keke Song, 2021. "The Role of Ethical Standards in the Relationship Between Religious Social Norms and M&A Announcement Returns," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(4), pages 721-742, May.
    11. Shams, Syed & Bose, Sudipta & Sheikhbahaei, Ali, 2024. "Pricing media sentiment: Evidence from global mergers and acquisitions," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    12. Arouri, Mohamed & Gomes, Mathieu & Pukthuanthong, Kuntara, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility and M&A uncertainty," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 176-198.
    13. Wang, Ye & Yin, Sirui, 2018. "CEO educational background and acquisition targets selection," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 238-259.
    14. Liu, Tingting & Lu, Zhongjin (Gene) & Shu, Tao & Wei, Fengrong, 2022. "Unique bidder-target relatedness and synergies creation in mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    15. Masulis, Ronald W. & Reza, Syed Walid & Guo, Rong, 2023. "The sources of value creation in acquisitions of intangible assets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    16. Huang, Chenchen & Luo, Di & Mukherjee, Soumyatanu & Mishra, Tapas, 2022. "To Acquire or to Ally? Managing Partners’ Environmental Risk in International Expansion," MPRA Paper 117591, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 07 Jan 2023.
    17. Dong, Yizhe & Li, Chang & Li, Haoyu, 2021. "Customer concentration and M&A performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    18. Dyaran Bansraj & Han Smit & Vadym Volosovych, 2020. "Can Private Equity Funds Act as Strategic Buyers? Evidence from Buy-and-Build Strategies," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 20-041/IV, Tinbergen Institute.
    19. Liu, Xianda & Hou, Wenxuan & Main, Brian G.M., 2022. "Anti-market sentiment and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from anti-Jewish pogroms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    20. Bui, Dien Giau & Chung, Huimin & Lin, Chih-Yung & Tsao, Kuang-Chih, 2024. "The dark side of well-connected directors: Evidence from private firm acquisitions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ESG distance; M&as; Deal initiation; Announcement returns; Kyoto protocol;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • 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
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:96:y:2024:i:pb:s1057521924006094. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620166 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.