Will investors’ excitement last? Determinants of investors’ responses to cross-border acquisitions by Chinese firms

Previous studies have found that in the short term, investors in emerging economies tend to react optimistically to cross-border acquisitions. However, studies in both financial economics and strategic management have acknowledged that there may be short-term abnormal returns in the stock market. As such, based on a behavioral perspective on investor valuation, we examine whether and when investors’ initial reactions are sustained using a sample of cross-border acquisitions by Chinese firms from 1998 to 2018. We find that the investor’s initial positive reactions are more likely to be sustained in the long term when (1) a cash payment is used for the acquisition, (2) the acquiring firm has more international acquisition experience, (3) the target firm’s country has a large economy, and (4) the target firm’s country has a culture of high uncertainty avoidance. Our findings extend the behavioral perspective on market reactions to cross-border acquisitions, and we contend that investors’ market valuations are a complex process that relies on various contextual cues. We contribute to an improved understanding of how investors evaluate a firm’s cross-border acquisitions over time.