The Wealth Effects of Cross-Border Diversification Strategies of Emerging Market Multinationals

Abstract

Firms from emerging markets have become important participants in the international market for acquisition targets cross-border. This paper investigates the market reaction to diversification strategies of emerging country acquirers announcing cross-border M&As. Our results indicate that emerging markets shareholders are primarily interested in risk reduction benefits arising from acquisitions in countries where the correlation of returns between acquirers and targets is low, and that these anticipated risk reductions are ultimately realized over the two years following the acquisitions.

Keywords

• wealth effects
• cross-border diversification
• emerging market
• international market
• m&a