Acquirers’ Reception of Signals in M&A Markets: Effects of Acquirer Experiences on Target Selection
Journal
Journal of Management Studies
Journal Volume
58
Journal Issue
5
Pages
1237-1266
Date Issued
2021
Author(s)
Reuer J.J.
Abstract
A key challenge facing acquirers is how to judge the technological and other resources of high-tech ventures. While it is well known that acquirers can benefit from signals about targets to reduce acquirers’ uncertainty in the selection of acquisition targets, this leaves open the question of the degree to which certain acquirers would rely on a target’s signals. We argue that different levels and types of experience can shape an acquirer’s attention to high-tech ventures’ signals. On the one hand, general acquisition experience can lead an acquirer to pay more attention to and act on signals. On the other hand, target-specific experience developed from prior collaborations can reduce the value of signals by directly mitigating an acquirer’s risk of adverse selection. Based on a sample of over a thousand technology ventures in the US biotechnology industry, our empirical evidence demonstrates that the combination of acquirers’ experiences and targets’ signals explains who buys whom in a high-tech industry. ? 2020 Society for the Advancement of Management Studies and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Subjects
high-tech ventures
M&A experience
prior ties
signaling theory
SDGs
Type
journal article