The Emerging Role of the European Commission in Merger and Acquisition Monitoring: The Boeing / Mcdonnell Douglas Case #61623

27 Pages Posted: 7 Aug 2000

See all articles by Nihat Aktas

Nihat Aktas

WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management

Eric de Bodt

NHH

Michel Levasseur

Université de Lille

André Schmitt

University of Lille I

Abstract

On December 21, 1989 the European Community Counsel promulgated EEC regulation no. 4064/89 and in doing so, reinforced merger operations monitoring and control at the European level. The object of this study is to evaluate the consequences of the application of this regulation to non-European companies with merger and acquisition operations under way. It is an illustration of how the parts played by the different monitoring authorities at the world level are interwoven and of the complexity of the legal and political environments peculiar to multinational firms. We focus on the Boeing ? McDonnell Douglas case because it is one of the first non-European mergers considered by the Commission. The analysis of abnormal returns on the two securities shows that the threat of a ban of the merger by the Commission where not perceived as credible at first. But when Boeing decided to request the support of the American government, just after the decision of the European Commission to extend its investigations to the long term exclusivity contacts, the role of the Commission emerged.

Keywords: mergers and acquisitions, regulation costs, concentration control, event studies

JEL Classification: G34

Suggested Citation

Aktas, Nihat and de Bodt, Eric and Levasseur, Michel G. and Schmitt, André, The Emerging Role of the European Commission in Merger and Acquisition Monitoring: The Boeing / Mcdonnell Douglas Case #61623. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=234688

Nihat Aktas

WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management ( email )

Burgplatz 2
Vallendar, 56179
Germany

Eric De Bodt

NHH ( email )

Helleveien 30
Bergen, NO-5045
Norway

Michel G. Levasseur

Université de Lille ( email )

42, rue Paul Duez
Lille, 59000
France

André Schmitt (Contact Author)

University of Lille I ( email )

Ecole Superieure des Affaires 1, place D'Eliot
F-59000 Lille
France
+33 (0)3 20 90 74 79 (Phone)
+33 (0)3 20 90 77 03 (Fax)

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