Abstract
We study the effects of bank mergers and acquisitions in the U.K. from 1885 to 1925. The lack of a regulatory authority and the confidential nature of merger negotiations allows us to precisely measure the wealth effects of M&As in a laissez-faire environment. We find positive wealth effects for bidders (0.7%-1%) and targets (6.7%-8%) over the announcement month. When takeovers took place in a competitive environment wealth creation appears to be related to efficiency gains. As competition decreased, gains to shareholders appear to be related to increased oligopoly power. In a less competitive environment, banks tended to reduce the amount of loans and increase their holdings of safe marketable securities. Banks with higher charter value displayed higher capital ratios.
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