Performance of Cross–border Mergers and Acquisitions in Five East Asian Countries

This paper provides an overview of cross-border mergers andacquisitions (CBMAs) and target firms’ performance in the fivecountries most affected by the Asian financial crisis, namely Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and South Korea. Malaysia had the lowest CBMA percentage as compared to the others while Indonesia recorded the highest among the five countries. The majority of the CBMAs in these countries were in the financial sector, followed by the industrial and material sectors. The results show a marginal improvement in the performance or perceived growth opportunities as measured by the adjusted Tobin’s q. When comparing the performances of CBMAs across countries, they are inconclusive for four of the five countries with the exception of Malaysia which shows negative values. The findings reflect the heterogeneity and complexity of the causes and effects of CBMAs in this region