코스닥기업의 인수합병이 인수기업의 경영성과에 미치는 영향

This study investigates the announcement effect and the post-merger operating performance of acquiring firms in Korea for a large sample of M&As conducted in KOSDAQ market since the financial crisis period of late 1990s. Excluding 108 backdoor listings out of 333 total M&As by non-financial companies between January 2000 and June 2008, our final sample consists of 225 ordinary M&As, which includes ‘acquisition of business’ and ‘acquisition of stock’, as well as ‘merger.’ The empirical findings show that acquiring firms not only earn the positive announcement stock returns, but also significantly outperform the benchmark in terms of long-run operating performance. The acquirers’ industry- adjusted operating returns on assets improve on average of 6.6% over the two-year periods before and after the acquisition year, implying the positive economic benefits of M&As. Furthermore, we found the change of profit margin rather than that of total asset turnover contributes more to the improvement of long-run operating performance, especially in case of non-affiliated mergers. It is interpreted that KOSDAQ companies typically less diversified attempt non-affiliated M&As when undergoing the profit margin decline, ultimately achieving the recovery of profit margin in the long run.