This paper surveys cross-border oil and gas mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions in recent years using a large sample of 18,179 transactions announced over the period 2000–2018. M&A activities depend on economic fundamentals, but also on sector specifics and this particularly holds true for the oil and gas industry. Therefore, we have added sector specific to the standard economic explanations of mergers and acquisitions by accounting for institutions, resources, and politics. Indeed, our outputs show that industry-specific factors seem much more important in motivating M&A in the oil and gas industry than the familiar and researched economic conditions. In particular, the pattern of cross-border M&A is almost unrelated to opportunities offered by the resource base in different countries while political, institutional, and legal constraints shape the directions of cross-border M&A. The research covers the recent trends in the oil and gas M&A transactions, strengthens the understanding of various dynamics and sheds light on the potential future directions of the M&A market in the oil and gas industry.
Bank Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions: Causes, Consequences, and Recent Trends