Mergers & Acquisitions in the Machinery Industry

Which motives initiate managers to merge or to acquire other corporations? While there is a long-lasting history of empirical research on M& A in a cross-industry context, our knowledge about industry specific drivers of M& A is more than limited. Given this background, the machinery industry is an attractive segment to address questions on M& A motives – as it is on the one hand a very fragmented industry and on the other hand a bundle of in some parts highly consolidated sub-industries. In his thesis, Mr. Geiger makes an effort to answer the question why firms in the machinery industry follow M& A strategies and how successful they are in their transactions. This is not only a remarkable endeavour because Mr. Geiger uses some hand selected unique datasets, but in particular, because he presents state-of-the-art analyses which are competitive and meet highest international standards. The thesis on hand carefully identifies and addresses open research questions related to M& A strategies ina very specific industry. Its primary objective was to identify M& A motives for different types of companies in various sub-segments of the machinery industry by analyzing stock price and accounting data. Thusly objectifying managerial action allows deriving recommendations for financing practice.