Do corporate governance and culture matter in cross-border acquisitions? Some Chinese evidence

The Chinese market for corporate control has recently gained much academic attention. This research constructs a sample of 159 cross-border acquisitions made by 123 Chinese firms between 2010 and 2014 and relates the roles of governance and culture to the wealth effects of mergers. First, the shareholders of Chinese bidders experience gains upon the announcement of overseas mergers. Second, country- and firm-level governance notably affects the cumulative abnormal returns of Chinese acquirers. Lastly, and however, the cultural distance per Hofstede’s (1980) four cultural dimensions does not appear to be a significant factor in determining the shareholder wealth of Chinese purchasers.