German Mergers & Acquisitions in the USA

Mergers and acquisitions in the United States of America are a major strategic means for German companies in their pursuit of becoming global players. The significant volume of such cross-border transactions reflects the firms’ expectations of creating value in the world’s most important consumer market. Did the German acquirers succeed in their transatlantic leap?


Bernd Wübben analyzes the success of 87 German mergers and acquisitions in the USA during the period from 1990 to 2004. He begins his assessment with a description of various aspects of the current institutional framework applicable to structuring a cross-border acquisition in the USA. Employing a study of the capital markets’ reaction and a survey of acquirers’ executives, he shows that US transactions on average enhanced value for German companies and their shareholders. The author integrates the findings of both methodologies to identify the determinants of transaction success, including characteristics of the German acquiring and the US target companies as well as of the acquisition structure and management.