What is Different about Government-Controlled Acquirers in Cross-Border Acquisitions?

We examine the motives for and consequences of 5,317 failed and completed cross-border acquisitions constituting $619 billion of total activity that were led by government-controlled acquirers over the period from 1990 to 2008. We benchmark this activity at the aggregate country level and also at the deal level with cross-border acquisitions involving corporate acquirers over the same period. We find that government-led deal activity is relatively more intense for geographically-closer countries, but also relatively less sensitive to differences in the level of economic development of the acquirer’s and target’s home countries, in the quality of their legal institutions and accounting standards, and to how stringent are restrictions on FDI flows in their countries. Government-led acquirers are more likely to pursue larger targets with greater growth opportunities and more financial constraints. But, the share-price reactions to the announcements of such acquisitions are not different. Among those deals involving government-controlled acquirers, we do find important differences involving sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). SWF-led acquisitions are less likely to fail, they are more likely to pursue acquirers that are larger in total assets and with fewer financial constraints, and the market reactions to SWF-led acquisitions, while positive, are statistically and economically much smaller. We discuss policy implications in terms of recent regulatory changes in the U.S. and other countries that seek to restrict foreign acquisitions by government-controlled entities.Government-controlled Acquirers, Cross-Border Acquisitions

World Market for Mergers and Acquisitions

Despite the fact that one-third of worldwide mergers involve firms from different countries, the vast majority of the academic literature on mergers studies domestic mergers. What little has been written about cross-border mergers has focused on public firms, usually from the United States. Yet, the vast majority of cross-border mergers involve private firms that are not from the United States. We provide an analysis of a sample of 56,978 cross-border mergers occurring between 1990 and 2007. We first characterize the patterns of who buys whom: Geography matters, with firms being much more likely to purchase firms in nearby countries than in countries far away. Purchasers are usually but not always from developed countries and they tend to purchase firms in countries with lower accounting standards. A significant factor in determining acquisition patterns is currency movements; firms tend to purchase firms from countries relative to which the currency of the acquirers country has appreciated. In addition, economy-wide factors reflected in the countrys stock market returns lead to acquisitions as well. Both the currency and stock market effect could suggest either misvaluation or wealth explanations. Our evidence is more consistent with the wealth explanation than the misvaluation explanation.Mergers; Currency movements; Market movements; Valuation

Gender quotas and bank risk

We assess the effects of board gender quota laws using a sample of banks from 39 countries. We document an increase in both stand-alone and systemic risk post-quota among banks that did not meet the quota prereform; the effect is stronger for banks in countries with a smaller pool of women in finance and low gender equality. We find that the propagation of poor governance practices by overlapping female directors and deterioration in the information environment post quota are likely channels driving the results. The evidence is consistent with some banks “gaming” the reform by strategically appointing insiders, which weakens the board’s monitoring function. Our results have policy implications and suggest that supply-side factors are key determinants of the outcome of mandated quotas

World Markets for Mergers and Acquisitions

Despite the fact that one-third of worldwide mergers involve firms from different countries, the vast majority of the academic literature on mergers studies domestic mergers. What little has been written about cross-border mergers has focused on public firms, usually from the United States. Yet, the vast majority of cross-border mergers involve private firms that are not from the United States. We provide an analysis of a sample of 56,978 cross-border mergers occurring between 1990 and 2007. We first characterize the patterns of who buys whom: Geography matters, with firms being much more likely to purchase firms in nearby countries than in countries far away. Purchasers are usually but not always from developed countries and they tend to purchase firms in countries with lower investor protection and accounting standards. A significant factor in determining acquisition patterns is currency movements; firms tend to purchase firms from countries relative to which the acquirer’s currency has appreciated. In addition economy-wide factors reflected in the country’s stock market returns lead to acquisitions as well. Both the currency and stock market effect could reflect either misvaluation or wealth explanations. Our evidence is more consistent with the wealth explanation than the misvaluation explanation.

Increased Time Outdoors Is Followed by Reversal of the Long-Term Trend to Reduced Visual Acuity in Taiwan Primary School Students.

PurposeTo investigate the change in the prevalence of reduced visual acuity (VA) in Taiwanese school children after a policy intervention promoting increased time outdoors.DesignProspective cohort study based on the Taiwan School Student Visual Acuity Screen (TSVAS) by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan.ParticipantsAll school children from grades 1 through 6 were enrolled in the TSVAS from 2001 through 2015.MethodsThe TSVAS requires each school in Taiwan to perform measurements of uncorrected VA (UCVA) on all students in grades 1 through 6 every half year using a Tumbling E chart. Reduced VA was defined as UCVA of 20/25 or less. Data from 1.2 to 1.9 million primary school children each year were collected from 2001 through 2015. A policy program named Tian-Tian 120 encouraged schools to take students outdoors for 120 minutes every day for myopia prevention. It was instituted in September 2010. To investigate the impact of the intervention, a segmented regression analysis of interrupted time series was performed.Main outcome measuresPrevalence of reduced VA.ResultsFrom 2001 to 2011, the prevalence of reduced VA of school children from grades 1 through 6 increased from 34.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 34.7%-34.9%) to 50.0% (95% CI, 49.9%-50.1%). After the implementation of the Tian-Tian 120 outdoor program, the prevalence decreased continuously from 49.4% (95% CI, 49.3%-49.5%) in 2012 to 46.1% (95% CI, 46.0%-46.2%) in 2015, reversing the previous long-term trend. For the segmented regression analysis controlling for gender and grade, a significant constant upward trend before the intervention in the mean annual change of prevalence was found (+1.58%; standard error [SE], 0.08; P ConclusionsPolicy intervention to promote increased time outdoors in schools was followed by a reversal of the long-term trend toward increased low VA in school children in Taiwan. Because randomized trials have demonstrated outdoor exposure slowing myopia onset, interventions to promote increased time outdoors may be useful in other areas affected by an epidemic of myopia

Conformational adaptation of Asian macaque TRIMCyp directs lineage specific antiviral activity

TRIMCyps are anti-retroviral proteins that have arisen independently in New World and Old World primates. All TRIMCyps comprise a CypA domain fused to the tripartite domains of TRIM5α but they have distinct lentiviral specificities, conferring HIV-1 restriction in New World owl monkeys and HIV-2 restriction in Old World rhesus macaques. Here we provide evidence that Asian macaque TRIMCyps have acquired changes that switch restriction specificity between different lentiviral lineages, resulting in species-specific alleles that target different viruses. Structural, thermodynamic and viral restriction analysis suggests that a single mutation in the Cyp domain, R69H, occurred early in macaque TRIMCyp evolution, expanding restriction specificity to the lentiviral lineages found in African green monkeys, sooty mangabeys and chimpanzees. Subsequent mutations have enhanced restriction to particular viruses but at the cost of broad specificity. We reveal how specificity is altered by a scaffold mutation, E143K, that modifies surface electrostatics and propagates conformational changes into the active site. Our results suggest that lentiviruses may have been important pathogens in Asian macaques despite the fact that there are no reported lentiviral infections in current macaque populations

Identification of Radiopure Titanium for the LZ Dark Matter Experiment and Future Rare Event Searches

The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment will search for dark matter particle interactions with a detector containing a total of 10 tonnes of liquid xenon within a double-vessel cryostat. The large mass and proximity of the cryostat to the active detector volume demand the use of material with extremely low intrinsic radioactivity. We report on the radioassay campaign conducted to identify suitable metals, the determination of factors limiting radiopure production, and the selection of titanium for construction of the LZ cryostat and other detector components. This titanium has been measured with activities of $^{238}$U$_{e}$~$<$1.6~mBq/kg, $^{238}$U$_{l}$~$<$0.09~mBq/kg, $^{232}$Th$_{e}$~$=0.28\pm 0.03$~mBq/kg, $^{232}$Th$_{l}$~$=0.25\pm 0.02$~mBq/kg, $^{40}$K~$<$0.54~mBq/kg, and $^{60}$Co~$<$0.02~mBq/kg (68\% CL). Such low intrinsic activities, which are some of the lowest ever reported for titanium, enable its use for future dark matter and other rare event searches. Monte Carlo simulations have been performed to assess the expected background contribution from the LZ cryostat with this radioactivity. In 1,000 days of WIMP search exposure of a 5.6-tonne fiducial mass, the cryostat will contribute only a mean background of $0.160\pm0.001$(stat)$\pm0.030$(sys) counts.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic