We used the Hubble Space Telescope to take a wide field, multicolor image of the high redshift cluster MS1054–03 at z = 0.83. The Keck telescope was used to take 200 redshifts in the field. We have a total of 81 spectroscopically confirmed cluster members with deep WFPC2 imaging. A surprisingly large number of these cluster members are mergers: 13 out of 77 galaxies are classified as merger rem...

This paper suggests a motive for bank mergers that goes beyond alleged and typically unverifiable scale economies: preemptive resolution of banks’ financial distress. Such ”distress mergers” can be a significant motivation for mergers because they can foster reorganizations, realize diversification gains, and avoid public attention. However, since none of these potential benefits comes without ...

The inability of most bank merger studies to control for hidden bailouts may lead to biased results. In this study, we employ a unique data set of approximately 1,000 mergers to analyze the determinants of bank mergers. We use data on the regulatory intervention history to distinguish between distressed and non-distressed mergers. We find that, among merging banks, distressed banks had the wors...

This paper analyses competition and mergers among risk averse banks. We show that the correlation between the shocks to the demand for loans and the shocks to the supply of deposits induces a strategic interdependence between the two sides of the market. We characterise the role of diversification as a motive for bank mergers and analyse the consequences of mergers on loan and deposit rates. Wh...

We present binary galaxy merger simulations of gas-rich disks (Sp-Sp), of early-type galaxies and disks (E-Sp, mixed mergers), and mergers of early-type galaxies (E-E, dry mergers) with varying mass ratios and different progenitor morphologies. The simulations include radiative cooling, star formation and black hole (BH) accretion and the associated feedback processes. We find for Sp-Sp mergers...

Most studies on mergers and acquisitions are not sample selective. This study directly examines the motives of horizontal mergers by utilizing a sample of acquiring firms based on same SIC codes. A three factor Arbitrage pricing model was utilized, with Tobin’s q ratio as a measure of market power, to study the performance of the firms involved in the mergers. The results indicate the acquisiti...

The challenge of effective merger enforcement is tremendous. U.S. antitrust agencies must, by statute, quickly forecast the competitive effects of mergers that occur in virtually every sector of the economy to determine if mergers can proceed. Surprisingly, given the complexity of the regulators task, there is remarkably little empirical evidence on the effects of mergers to guide regulators. T...

Traditional merger analysis in the U.S. focuses on a single dimension, namely the combination of two or more firms that supply substitutable products. As such, merger analysis misses the fact that there are various types of mergers – e.g., hostile takeovers, friendly acquisitions, and mergers of equals – and that the differences among these types affect outcomes. Similarly missing is explicit c...

We investigate the role that dry mergers play in the build-up of massive galaxies within the cold dark matter paradigm. Implementing an empirical shut-off mass scale for star formation, we find a nearly constant dry merger rate of ∼ 6× 10 Mpc Gyr at z 6 1 and a steep decline at larger z. Less than half of these mergers are between two galaxies that are morphologically classified as early-types,...

Deregulation, privatization and shifting demand patterns in the airline industry, combined with the emergence of low-cost airlines and rising fuel prices have increased the competitive pressure on legacy airlines. Since alliances do not deliver sufficient benefits to counterbalance these trends, many airlines have engaged in mergers to seek for additional cost and revenue synergies. An extent b...