Target choice: start-up versus mature firm as prospective acquisition targets

• Main Authors: ElizavetaBoldyreva, 艾文塔
• Other Authors: Chiung-Hui Tseng
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/08974525026070762991

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 國際企業研究所碩博士班 === 101 === Acquisition is a common strategy used by firms in knowledge-intensive industries, particularly pharmaceutical industry, that is characterized by high competition and reliance on R＆D activities and intangible assets. Firms in pharmaceutical industry often use acquisitions to access proprietary knowledge, that is difficult to develop. In order to insure successful acquisition, an acquiring firm needs to choose the right target, which suits its strategy and R＆D needs. This study aims to investigate how acquirer’s prior acquisition experience influences the target choice between a start-up and a mature firm. By distinguishing the effect of different types of acquisition experience, namely experience with mature firm and experience with start-up, this study also seeks to understand, the different impacts made by distinct types of acquisition experience. Using a sample of 469 acquisition events in pharmaceutical industry, taking place between 1994 and 2010, hypotheses are empirically tested. Specifically, this study found that more experienced acquirers tend to choose a mature firm as their prospective target, while companies that mostly implemented acquisitions of one particular type of target, start-up or mature firm, are more likely to replicate their target choices. Moreover, it was found that acquirers with higher average size of previously implemented acquisitions tend to choose start-ups, which can be explained by principal-agent problems and specific nature of pharmaceutical business.