【公开学术报告】M&A and retention of target CEO

Topic: M&A and retention of target CEO

Date & Time: 10:00-11:30am, Tue. 23rd, October 2018

Venue: Room 2101, Tongji Building A

Language: English

Speaker：Dr. Zhefei LI (Singapore Management University)

ABSTRACT

We argue that the level of firm-specific knowledge in an acquisition target may affect the likelihood of the target’s CEO retention after an acquisition. Specifically, due to the important role of target CEOs in firm-specific knowledge preservation and integration, we expect a positive relationship between a target’s pre-acquisition firm-specific knowledge level and the likelihood that its CEO is retained. Furthermore, this relationship is positively moderated by the target’s pre-acquisition performance, which signals a higher value of firm-specific knowledge, and the target CEO’s tenure, which is positively associated with both the benefit of retaining and the cost of replacing the CEO. Using a sample of acquisitions involving US target firms acquired between 1995 and 2006, we find support for our hypotheses