Why are serial acquirers different in the USA?

Over 70% of the $15tn in cumulative acquisition value around the world in the past two decades accrue to firms that engage in serial acquisitions. Golubov et al. (2015) find that serial acquirers domiciled in the USA experience persistent returns up to five years into their streams of acquisition activity. The same, however, is not true for non-US firms, which account for two-thirds of all serial acquirers. The authors find the differences are concentrated among the highest quintiles of serial acquirers by returns – the “extraordinary” acquirers – and among those serial acquisition deals in the high-technology industry in the USA.