Extensive literature has discussed the driving forces of takeover activities, including investor sentiment, liquidity, and fundamental shocks. We examine how manager sentiment affects takeover characteristics and long-term performance using data from textual analysis based on 10-K and 10-Q filings. We find that manager sentiment has a strong positive predictive power for takeover activities. Firms with high manager sentiment tend to acquire large and private targets and complete deals with large sizes. Moreover, high manager sentiment is associated with less stock payment, fewer days of completion, and higher bidding premiums. Finally, our findings demonstrate that high manager sentiment decreases the long-term performance of takeover deals.