Acquisitions In Countries Research Articles

SOCIO-GEOGRAPHICAL DIMENSION OF DEMOGRAPHIC PROCESSES IN UKRAINE IN THE PERIOD OF INDEPENDENCE (FROM 1991 TO 2022)

The article considers the formation of the demographic situation in Ukraine during its independence, namely - from 1991 to 2022. The authors analyzed the main demographic indicators - birth rate, mortality rate, natural increase, average life expectancy in the country over the past thirty years.
 In the first years of our country's acquisition of statehood, in addition to positive natural population growth, the increase in its number was also facilitated by a positive balance of migration due to a significant influx of immigrants. However, the deepening socio-economic crisis in 1992-1995 led to a sharp decline in birth rates, a deepening of natural population decline due to negative natural growth, and mass migration abroad in search of work. For the first time since this period, a negative balance of migration was recorded in Ukraine, and from that time until 2022, the volume of emigration exceeds immigration. Indicators of natural population movement have significant differences in the regions of Ukraine, urban and rural settlements. The highest values ​​are traditionally preserved in Volyn, Rivne and Zakarpattia oblasts, and the lowest ones are in Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts.
 The study allowed us to draw conclusions about the negative demographic phenomena - a rapid decline in population due to a significant decrease in birth rates, high mortality rates, the spread of the phenomenon of "aging" of the population. All this leads to the inevitable depopulation in the country, which confirms the demographic loss of about 10 million people during the study period (due to natural population decline and high migration in the mid-1990s and early XXI century). The demographic situation in rural areas remains particularly catastrophic. Negative demographic trends are exacerbated by the mass exodus of young people to study and work in the cities.
 Among the main factors that influenced the formation of the current demographic situation in Ukraine are: socio-economic (high unemployment, migration abroad, low level and quality of life compared to other countries in the European region), environmental (high level of industrial pollution) certain regions, uncontrolled application of mineral fertilizers to agricultural land, radiation emissions associated with the Chernobyl disaster), natural (Covid-19 epidemic), military (active phase of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022).
 The demographic catastrophe in Ukraine, connected with the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022, deserves special attention. The huge direct and indirect losses suffered by the country are due to the direct deaths during the hostilities, as well as the mass migration of people abroad since the beginning of the war. The losses will be assessed by demographers and statistical services after the war, but it is already worth considering the directions of a comprehensive demographic policy in Ukraine in the postwar period, which will restore the country's demographic potential. This work requires the coordinated work of demographers, geographers, economists and government and local government representatives. The authors outlined only the most important vectors of the formation of a new demographic policy in postwar Ukraine. They plan to pay more attention to these aspects by continuing further research.
 Keywords: population reproduction, birth rate, mortality, natural movement, life expectancy

Mergers and acquisitions in Morocco: reality and perspectives

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to address certain gaps and contribute to enriching the literature on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Africa; describe the phenomenon taking into account the particularity of the country; address recommendations to public policies and investors and make this article a ground-breaking article on research into the phenomenon of the M&A market in North Africa.Design/methodology/approachWith description and an exploratory intention, the authors develop phenomenon driven research. As appropriate phenomenon driven research, the authors focus on characteristics of Moroccan M&A market. The authors use scientific investigation to provide descriptions and explanations of the phenomena in order to add a new perspective to the M&A literature in North African region. The authors work on the particularity of companies in Morocco, typology of M&A, geographic areas, socio-economic indicators, trade agreements, politics and culture.FindingsUnderstand that the phenomenon of domestic M&A is a phenomenon of big cities and knows the participation of small and medium enterprises. The political variable, the trade agreements and the socio-economic weight of the countries influence the cross-border M&A in to out. Sharing a border and common culture has no impact on cross-border M&A but the history of colonization has an impact.Research limitations/implicationsThe scientific contribution is first an extension of the neoclassical theory on the initiation of M&A operations. Throughout these 29 years of history, the existence of external shocks such as regulations has influenced the activity of M&A operations. Privatization, partial opening of sectors to foreign investment tax incentives have contributed to the realization of M&A operations.Practical implicationsThis paper also has an economic and practical contribution, as it informs about the absence of M&A operation in the agriculture and agri-food sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. This region recognizes a food shortage that will increase by 70–100% between 2010 and 2050 with a strong population growth. The authors also note that regulations, royal directives, influence the activity and geographic choices of M&A. The political variable remains decisive for the cross-border M&A activity between Morocco and Algeria, but encourages acquisitions in countries in West and Central Africa.Originality/valueM&A research in Africa is poor and suffers from several shortcomings; these barriers push researchers to produce fewer papers on this phenomenon. Through data collection, description and explanation, the authors tried to produce a paper focusing on the M&A phenomenon in a country in North Africa. To the authors’ knowledge, no article has dealt with this phenomenon in this country which is known for its strong M&A activity.

How CEO Pre-Career Overseas Experience Affects Location Choice of Cross-Border Acquisitions (WITHDRAWN)

Executives’ oversea experiences have been noted as valuable resources, but the channel through which such experiences affect firm international strategies is less clear. Draw on the imprinting perspective, we argue that a CEO with pre-career overseas experience would prefer to make cross-border acquisitions in countries where he or she grows up and/or receives education. We further maintain that the above relationship will be strengthened or weakened by certain boundary conditions at the CEO-, firm-, and country-levels. An analysis of a sample of U.S. public firms during 1996-2015 renders support to our arguments. Our findings provide evidence on the imprinting role of executives’ pre-career experience in their strategic decisions later on.

Escaping financial crises? Macro evidence from sovereign wealth funds' investment behaviour

This paper investigates the determinants of the investment activity of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) at a macro level, with special emphasis on the possible reaction to a financial crisis in a potential target economy. The analysis relies upon a specially built proprietary database, which encompasses 1,903 acquisition deals spanning the period 1995–2010 and involving 29 out of the 79 existing SWFs. According to a three-step modelling approach, we find that this class of investors prefers to invest in countries with a higher degree of economic development, larger and more liquid financial markets, institutions that offer better protection of legal rights, and a more stable macroeconomic environment. Most importantly, and in stark contrast with the existing empirical literature on other major institutional investors, SWFs seem to engage in ‘contrarian’ investment behaviour, i.e. increasing their acquisitions in countries where crises hit. The results are shown to be valid if we consider both the likelihood of a country being the target of SWFs' investments and the amount SWFs choose to invest in each country. Capital flows stemming from SWFs' acquisition activity worldwide may therefore have a stabilizing effect on local markets during periods of financial turmoil, protecting the targeted countries from foreign shocks instead of propagating them globally.

Are Sovereign Wealth Funds Contrarian Investors?

This paper investigates the determinants of the investment activity of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) at a macro level, with special emphasis on the possible reaction to a financial crisis in a potential target economy. The analysis relies upon a specially built proprietary database, which encompasses 1,903 acquisition deals spanning the period 1995-2010 and involving 29 out of the 69 existing SWFs. According to a three-step modelling approach, we find that this class of investors prefers to invest in countries with a higher degree of economic development, larger and more liquid financial markets, institutions that offer better protection of legal rights, and a more stable macroeconomic environment. Most importantly, and in stark contrast with the existing empirical literature on other major institutional investors, SWFs seem to engage in ‘contrarian’ investment behaviour, i.e. increasing their acquisitions in countries where crises hit. The results are shown to be valid if we consider both the likelihood of a country being the target of SWFs’ investments and the amount SWFs choose to invest in each country. Capital flows stemming from SWFs’ acquisition activity worldwide may therefore eventually have a stabilizing effect on local markets during periods of financial turmoil, protecting the targeted countries from foreign shocks instead of propagating them globally.

Frequent cross-border acquirers from emerging countries and cultural distance: Does the cultural difference of the initial deal matter?

This paper analyzes the relationship between national cultural differences and the performances of repeated cross-border acquirers from emerging countries, using a sample of 1079 deals conducted by 337 acquirers for the sample period of 1985–June 2008. Empirical results indicate that cross-border acquisitions on average are associated with positive wealth effects; however, for firms starting with deals with high cultural differences, abnormal returns become near zero for subsequent deals. The evidence points to the relevance of the culture factor. Moreover, the results can be consistent with either the hubris behavior (Roll, 1986) or a learning effect (Aktas et al., 2011). Conditional on successful first deals, declining abnormal return pattern is more pronounced, compared to unconditional results. Regression analyses that control for other factors point to the same conclusion that the declining abnormal return pattern is significant only for firms with high initial cultural differences. The results remain qualitatively the same after using an alternative cultural measure and accounting for country median and information asymmetry. In addition, evidence suggests that information asymmetry is greater for initial deals with higher cultural differences. The practical implication of our results is that it is generally better for firms to start international acquisitions in countries with low or medium cultural differences.

The Development and Future of Fighter Planes Acquisitions in Countries of the Visegrad Group

In times of raging economic crisis, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland—or the so-called Visegrad countries (V4)—are reevaluating their defense procurements programs. The most visible of them are traditionally acquisitions of fighter planes. However, not only the recent lack of funds but also geopolitical orientation, military ambitions, and corruption must be taken into account when assessing the origin of the planes in the air forces of the V4 countries. Despite the similar time period in which the first round of fighter procurements took place (2002–2005) this article shows that very different approaches and factors influenced the selection process. This resulted in different outcomes both in types of planes and forms of acquisition. The future equipment of fighter fleets also hangs in the balance and is currently a source of considerable debate, which is assessed and summarized in the final chapter of the article.

Human development and cross-border acquisitions

We examine the role of human development in US companies' decisions to engage in cross-border acquisitions. Utilizing the human development index (HDI) published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), we find that US firms make acquisitions in countries with strong HDI levels. Alternative factors such as institutional quality, life expectancy, telephone usage and school enrolments also have a positive influence on the cross-border acquisition decision. Further, we find a positive relationship between cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and HDI rankings relative to the United States. Our findings contribute to the literature that seeks to explain why so little capital flows from developed to developing economies.

The wealth effects of international acquisitions and the impact of the EEC integration

The magnitude and division of gains from U.S. domestic acquisition activity has been extensively studied (e.g., Bradley, Desai, & Kim, 1988). The typical conclusion is that targets clearly gain from takeovers and that bidders at least do not lose (e.g., Jensen & Ruback, 1983), although the evidence about bidders is somewhat mixed. Evidence on domestic acquisitions in other countries generally supports these conclusions. For example, Franks and Harris (1989) study U.K. acquisitions and find that targets experience gains of 20 to 25 percent while bidders gain “zero or modest.” However, there is relatively little evidence about the wealth effects of international acquisitions on U.S. bidding firms. A recent study by Doukas and Travlos (1988) found that, as a whole, there are not significant wealth effects on U.S. acquiring firms over the period 1975 through 1983. However, they find positive abnormal returns for firms that make acquisitions in countries in which the firms had not previously been operating. The broad purpose of this paper is to provide additional evidence about the wealth effects of international acquisitions. Three specific lines of inquiry are pursued. First, we provide more recent evidence (up to 1989 from 1980) than is found in the extant literature. Second, we examine the gains from acquisitions in specific countries. Third, we explore the wealth effects of acquisitions of European firms that were impacted by the EEC integration. The paper is organized as follows. The next section discusses the data and methodology. Sections 3 and 4 report the findings. The paper ends with a brief summary.