Cross-border mergers and acquisitions in China: An industry panel study, 1991-2005

Employing a panel database, this article investigates empirically the behaviour, at an industry level, of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the People's Republic of China for the period 1991-2005. The study reports that many of the cross-border M&As over the past decades in China have been driven by broad fundamental factors, such as industry size and profitability. Moreover, technological intensity is significantly associated with the level of acquisition activity, indicating the tendency that intangible resources and intellectual capability favour more acquisition into China. It is found that deregulation, as a specific industry shock, affects acquisition activities significantly. The findings, it is concluded, have important managerial and policy implications.