IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/intfin/v74y2021ics1042443121000184.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of media in mergers and acquisitions

Author

Listed:
  • Liao, Rose
  • Wang, Xinjie
  • Wu, Ge

Abstract

Using a novel dataset of news events for 170,000 entities across over 100 countries, we examine how media sentiment could affect firm acquisition decisions. Studying 77,552 completed merger and acquisition (M&A) deals around the world from 2000 to 2015, we find that firms with high media sentiment are more likely to become an acquirer and to pay a higher deal premium. The effect of media on the likelihood of an acquisition is stronger for cross-border deals, in countries with higher governance standards, larger firms with fewer financial constraints, and firms with higher market-to-book ratio and more media coverage. Target firms typically have low media sentiment. Acquirers with high media sentiment experience significantly positive returns prior to acquisitions and negative returns post-acquisition, inconsistent with theories of media content as a proxy for new information about fundamental asset values. Overall, we show that the media play an important role in the market for M&As.

Suggested Citation

  • Liao, Rose & Wang, Xinjie & Wu, Ge, 2021. "The role of media in mergers and acquisitions," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:intfin:v:74:y:2021:i:c:s1042443121000184
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intfin.2021.101299
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1042443121000184
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intfin.2021.101299?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. Joel Peress, 2014. "The Media and the Diffusion of Information in Financial Markets: Evidence from Newspaper Strikes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(5), pages 2007-2043, October.
    2. Alexander Dyck & Natalya Volchkova & Luigi Zingales, 2008. "The Corporate Governance Role of the Media: Evidence from Russia," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(3), pages 1093-1135, June.
    3. Malcolm Baker & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2006. "Investor Sentiment and the Cross‐Section of Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(4), pages 1645-1680, August.
    4. Malcolm Baker & C. Fritz Foley & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2009. "Multinationals as Arbitrageurs: The Effect of Stock Market Valuations on Foreign Direct Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 337-369, January.
    5. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 2003. "Stock market driven acquisitions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 295-311, December.
    6. Dang, Tung Lam & Moshirian, Fariborz & Zhang, Bohui, 2015. "Commonality in news around the world," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 82-110.
    7. Malcolm Baker & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2007. "Investor Sentiment in the Stock Market," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 129-152, Spring.
    8. Ming Dong & David Hirshleifer & Scott Richardson & Siew Hong Teoh, 2006. "Does Investor Misvaluation Drive the Takeover Market?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(2), pages 725-762, April.
    9. Alexander Dyck & Adair Morse & Luigi Zingales, 2010. "Who Blows the Whistle on Corporate Fraud?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(6), pages 2213-2253, December.
    10. Sendhil Mullainathan & Andrei Shleifer, 2005. "The Market for News," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1031-1053, September.
    11. Liu, Baixiao & McConnell, John J., 2013. "The role of the media in corporate governance: Do the media influence managers' capital allocation decisions?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(1), pages 1-17.
    12. Joseph E. Engelberg & Christopher A. Parsons, 2011. "The Causal Impact of Media in Financial Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(1), pages 67-97, February.
    13. Paul C. Tetlock & Maytal Saar‐Tsechansky & Sofus Macskassy, 2008. "More Than Words: Quantifying Language to Measure Firms' Fundamentals," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(3), pages 1437-1467, June.
    14. Gregory S. Miller, 2006. "The Press as a Watchdog for Accounting Fraud," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5), pages 1001-1033, December.
    15. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 2015. "A five-factor asset pricing model," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 1-22.
    16. Kenneth R. Ahern & Denis Sosyura, 2015. "Rumor Has It: Sensationalism in Financial Media," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(7), pages 2050-2093.
    17. Camelia M. Kuhnen & Alexandra Niessen, 2012. "Public Opinion and Executive Compensation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(7), pages 1249-1272, July.
    18. Kenneth R. Ahern & Denis Sosyura, 2014. "Who Writes the News? Corporate Press Releases during Merger Negotiations," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(1), pages 241-291, February.
    19. Chunmei Lin & Massimo Massa & Hong Zhang, 2014. "Mutual Funds and Information Diffusion: The Role of Country-Level Governance," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 14-079/IV/DSF76, Tinbergen Institute.
    20. Lili Dai & Jerry T. Parwada & Bohui Zhang, 2015. "The Governance Effect of the Media's News Dissemination Role: Evidence from Insider Trading," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 331-366, May.
    21. Paul C. Tetlock, 2007. "Giving Content to Investor Sentiment: The Role of Media in the Stock Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(3), pages 1139-1168, June.
    22. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:3:p:1259-1294 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Adam C. Kolasinski & Adam V. Reed & Matthew C. Ringgenberg, 2013. "A Multiple Lender Approach to Understanding Supply and Search in the Equity Lending Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(2), pages 559-595, April.
    24. Joe, Jennifer R. & Louis, Henock & Robinson, Dahlia, 2009. "Managers’ and Investors’ Responses to Media Exposure of Board Ineffectiveness," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(3), pages 579-605, June.
    25. Ahern, Kenneth R. & Daminelli, Daniele & Fracassi, Cesare, 2015. "Lost in translation? The effect of cultural values on mergers around the world," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 165-189.
    26. Lily Fang & Joel Peress, 2009. "Media Coverage and the Cross‐section of Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(5), pages 2023-2052, October.
    27. Wu, Yanling & Tian, Gary Gang, 2021. "Public relations expenditure, media tone, and regulatory decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    28. Casey Dougal & Joseph Engelberg & Diego García & Christopher A. Parsons, 2012. "Journalists and the Stock Market," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(3), pages 639-679.
    29. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:6:p:2685-2718 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Tim Loughran & Bill Mcdonald, 2011. "When Is a Liability Not a Liability? Textual Analysis, Dictionaries, and 10‐Ks," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(1), pages 35-65, February.
    31. Chunmei Lin & Massimo Massa & Hong Zhang, 2014. "Mutual Funds and Information Diffusion: The Role of Country-Level Governance," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(11), pages 3343-3387.
    32. David H. Solomon, 2012. "Selective Publicity and Stock Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(2), pages 599-638, April.
    33. Jeffry Netter & Mike Stegemoller & M. Babajide Wintoki, 2011. "Implications of Data Screens on Merger and Acquisition Analysis: A Large Sample Study of Mergers and Acquisitions from 1992 to 2009," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(7), pages 2316-2357.
    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. Boubaker, Sabri & Liu, Zhenya & Zhai, Ling, 2021. "Big data, news diversity and financial market crash," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    2. Andreas Hackethal & Tobin Hanspal & Dominique M Lammer & Kevin Rink, 2022. "The Characteristics and Portfolio Behavior of Bitcoin Investors: Evidence from Indirect Cryptocurrency Investments [The investor in structured retail products: advice driven or gambling oriented]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(4), pages 855-898.
    3. Li, Hui & Zeng, Min & Liu, Ya-Fei, 2023. "Secret sentiments make for good announcements: Does unjustified managerial belief benefit tourism firm performance?," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    4. Cao, Yang & Kiesel, Florian & Leung, Henry, 2023. "The information value of M&A press releases," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

    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. Dang, Tung Lam & Dang, Man & Hoang, Luong & Nguyen, Lily & Phan, Hoang Long, 2020. "Media coverage and stock price synchronicity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    2. Jacobs, Heiko, 2020. "Hype or help? Journalists’ perceptions of mispriced stocks," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 550-565.
    3. Dang, Tung Lam & Dang, Viet Anh & Moshirian, Fariborz & Nguyen, Lily & Zhang, Bohui, 2019. "News media coverage and corporate leverage adjustments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    4. Lili Dai & Rui Shen & Bohui Zhang, 2021. "Does the media spotlight burn or spur innovation?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 343-390, March.
    5. Buehlmaier, Matthias M. M. & Zechner, Josef, 2016. "Financial media, price discovery, and merger arbitrage," CFS Working Paper Series 551, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    6. Baloria, Vishal P. & Heese, Jonas, 2018. "The effects of media slant on firm behavior," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(1), pages 184-202.
    7. Call, Andrew C. & Emett, Scott A. & Maksymov, Eldar & Sharp, Nathan Y., 2022. "Meet the press: Survey evidence on financial journalists as information intermediaries," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2).
    8. Gao, Xin & Xu, Weidong & Li, Donghui, 2022. "Media coverage and corporate risk-taking: International evidence," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    9. Tung L. Dang & Thi H. H. Huynh & Manh T. Nguyen, 2021. "Media attention and firm value: International evidence," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 21(3), pages 865-894, September.
    10. Borochin, Paul & Cu, Wei Hua, 2018. "Alternative corporate governance: Domestic media coverage of mergers and acquisitions in China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 1-25.
    11. Wu, Yanling & Tian, Gary Gang, 2021. "Public relations expenditure, media tone, and regulatory decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    12. Emanuele Bajo & Marco Bigelli & Carlo Raimondo, 2020. "Ownership ties, conflict of interest, and the tone of news," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 26(3), pages 560-578, June.
    13. Jia, Ming & Ruan, Hongfei & Zhang, Zhe, 2017. "How rumors fly," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 33-45.
    14. Gao, Xin & Xu, Weidong & Li, Donghui & Xing, Lu, 2021. "Media coverage and investment efficiency," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 270-293.
    15. Yi Li & Dehua Shen & Pengfei Wang & Wei Zhang, 2021. "Investor reactions to local and overseas news: Evidence from A‐ and H‐shares in China," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 4190-4225, July.
    16. Di Giuli, Alberta & Laux, Paul A., 2022. "The effect of media-linked directors on financing and external governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 103-131.
    17. Wu, Chunying & Xiong, Xiong & Gao, Ya, 2022. "The role of different information sources in information spread: Evidence from three media channels in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 327-341.
    18. Hossain, Md Miran & Javakhadze, David, 2020. "Corporate media connections and merger outcomes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    19. Bajo, Emanuele & Raimondo, Carlo, 2017. "Media sentiment and IPO underpricing," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 139-153.
    20. Hillert, Alexander & Jacobs, Heiko & Müller, Sebastian, 2018. "Journalist disagreement," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 57-76.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mergers; Media; Investor sentiment; Governance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

    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:intfin:v:74:y:2021:i:c:s1042443121000184. 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/intfin .

    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.