Board governance and acquirers’ returns : a study of Australian acquisitions/ created by Winson Chan and David Emanuel

This paper examines the relation between acquirer (abnormal) returns and governance characteristics of the board of directors of the acquiring firm. The central question is: Are higher (acquirer) abnormal returns associated with ‘better’ board governance, having controlled for other factors that can affect returns? As acquisitions represent a significant change in the acquirer’s corporate structure and operations, the determinants of a successful acquisition are of considerable importance. We examine the relation between returns and governance variables using a sample of 80 Australian acquisitions that occurred between 1999 and 2005. We use both short-run and long-run (abnormal) returns to capture the wealth effects of the acquisitions. We find very limited evidence of a connection between our governance variables and acquirer returns.