Determinants of short-term value creation for the bidder: Evidence from France

This paper analyses bidder short-term returns of 58 takeover bids that occur between 1997 and 2005 on the French market. Furthermore, the determinants of this performance are examined to improve understanding of the sources of value creation or destruction arising from M&A. This study reports that M&A are typically friendly, horizontal transaction, and relate to the entire target capital. The event study methodology is used to estimate bidder value creation. Three findings are shown in this study. First, we find strong evidence that the announcement of a takeover bid generates significant, high returns for the bidder with prebid blockholder position in the target (toehold) versus the bidder without toehold. In this case, there is a strong presumption that the synergies' motive is the prime reason for the offer. Second, these results show that bidders with low potential growth positively influence share price around the bid announcement. In addition, the growth profile of the target is associated with value creation for the bidder. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.