The influence of M&As on firm value: the Turkish experience

World economies were exposed to several merger and acquisition waves within the last century. Moreover, more recently, a shift of M&A activities from regional to more global nature has been observed (Gugler et al 2003). These waves, as discussed in the literature, can occur either because of some type of industry shocks or because of market timing Harford (2005)’. Up until the last decade, though, Turkish economy did not have a significant experience with mergers and acquisitions, either domestic or cross-country. More global nature of M&A activities and the emergence of the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) played an important role in this change. In particular, it became less costly for Turkish firms to raise capital and consider strategies to acquire or merge with other firms. In addition, it can be argued that existence of the stock exchange has caused information and monitoring costs to fall with improved regulations and laws. As a result, it became easier for acquirer and target firms to evaluate costs and benefits of merging or acquisition strategies.