An Assessment and Forecast Highlighting the Importance of Restructuring and Integration in Cross-Border Acquisitions in Poland. An Analysis of M&a Experts' Opinions.

Zusammenfassung

---

This study analyses the importance of restructuring activities and integration in cross-border acquisitions of Polish firms. We find that in comparison to acquisitions in developed economies analogous transactions in Poland are characterized by the particularly high role of retrenchment, positive impact of changes among incumbent managers and the relatively lower role of integration depth. Evidence concerning possible changes of these factors in the future is not unambiguous. Nonetheless, our findings indicate the possibility of their transition as well as its direction. Potential changes are expected to go in the direction of reducing the role of restructuring and increasing the role of integration.

Siehe den Gesamtinhalt dieses Dokumentes

Auszug

---

An Assessment and Forecast Highlighting the Importance of Restructuring and Integration in Cross-Border Acquisitions in Poland. An Analysis of M&a Experts' Opinions.

Introduction1

Cross-border acquisitions have played an important role in the transition "from plan to market" which has been underway in Poland since the beginning of the 1990s. As a result, they displayed specific features, absent in cross-border acquisitions in developed markets. First of all, acquisition targets have been often either SOEs (State Owned Enterprises) or former SOEs, formally privatised but still displaying lack of fit to the market-oriented system (Blaszczyk et al. 2001). Secondly, the Polish economy has been gradually opening to foreign investment only since beginning of the transition, with very few investments before 1990. As a result, cross-border acquisitions undertaken in 1990s have often constituted first-entries into the market. Thirdly, the Polish economy underwent major restructuring with output reductions in some industries and dynamic growth in others. Last but not least, the dynamic character of the transition, as reflected by regulatory reform, capital markets development and industry restructurings, exerted an influence on the relevance of acquisition success drivers.

Research on cross-border acquisitions into Poland has usually focused on the process of transforming State-Owned Enterprises through foreign acquisitions (McDonald 1993, Kotowicz-Jawor 2001, Fahy et al. 2003). As the number of studies on cross-border acquisitions in the CEE region is still limited and sometimes refers to the very early stage of transition (Uhlenbruck/DeCastro 2000) new studies on the topic seem justified.

Classical research on mergers and acquisitions has provided two competing approaches to post-acquisition value creation. This can take place either by means of restructuring a target's operations without integrating the acquirer with the target or changing incumbent man...

Siehe den Gesamtinhalt dieses Dokumentes

---