DO STOCK MARKET PRICES AFFECT MERGERS?

Merger activities and stock market prices tend to vary over time. An interesting issue is whether changes in stock market prices stimulate changes in merger activities, or vice versa. The results of this study, based on the Granger test for causality, indicate very strong causality going from stock market prices to merger activities. Increases in stock market prices, perhaps indicating a favourable economic environment, lead to increases in the number of mergers being completed.