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Sustainability as a stumbling block in closing acquisitions? The joint effect of target and acquirer ESG performance on time to completion

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  • Just, Ruben
  • Sommer, Friedrich
  • Heubeck, Tim
  • Meckl, Reinhard

Abstract

Sustainability is currently a major concern in business and society. As environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects are also considered in acquisitions, e.g., through time-consuming ESG due diligences, we investigate whether differences in ESG performance delay the closing of acquisitions. Using a sample of global M&A transactions, we measure ESG performance using the Refinitiv Eikon ESG scores and time to completion (TTC) as the number of days between the announcement and closing of a transaction. Our results show that larger differences in ESG performance between acquirer and target lead to shorter TTC when acquirer ESG performance exceeds target ESG performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Just, Ruben & Sommer, Friedrich & Heubeck, Tim & Meckl, Reinhard, 2023. "Sustainability as a stumbling block in closing acquisitions? The joint effect of target and acquirer ESG performance on time to completion," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PB).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:58:y:2023:i:pb:s1544612323007948
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2023.104422
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    ESG; M&A; Sustainability; Time to completion; Due diligence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

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