Social connectedness and cross-border mergers and acquisitions
利用Facebook社会关联指数，研究发现国家间社会关联越强，跨境并购中收购方的公告回报越高，这得益于信息传播改善，降低了目标溢价并提高了交易完成率。
We investigate the role of social connectedness in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) using the Facebook social connectedness index. We show that stronger social connectedness between countries leads to higher announcement returns for acquirers in cross-border M&As. This effect is attributed to improved information dissemination, which reduces target premiums, increases deal completion likelihood, and supports acquirers to achieve long-term success. Furthermore, social connectedness increases the frequency and dollar value of cross-border M&As between countries. This relation is weaker for countries in the same customs union, but stronger in the presence of greater political disagreement or significant time zone differences. Extending our analysis to domestic M&As in the U.S., we find that social connectedness between the headquarters’ cities of acquirers and targets improves acquirers’ announcement returns.