While extant acquisition literature explores how intentional signaling between the acquiring and target firms can influence acquisition outcomes, we examine how unintentional information revealed through prior actions taken long before an acquisition is contemplated – specifically patent citation patterns between the firms – influences acquisition outcomes. We argue that targets can screen patent citation imbalances between acquirer and target to reduce information asymmetry regarding potential joint value creation. When the acquirer cites the target's patents more than the reverse, the target is better able to infer knowledge dependence or private synergies stemming from the complementary knowledge bases of each firm. The reduction of information asymmetry permits the target to capture a higher acquisition premium justified by these anticipated synergies or dependencies. Using a sample of acquisitions between US high-tech firms from 2005 to 2021, we find support for our thesis when the acquirer's patent portfolio is diverse.

中文翻译：

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专利引用和收购溢价：筛选视角


虽然现有的收购文献探讨了收购公司和目标公司之间的有意信号如何影响收购结果，但我们研究了在考虑收购之前很久就采取的先前行动所揭示的无意信息（特别是公司之间的专利引用模式）如何影响收购结果。我们认为，目标公司可以筛选收购方和目标公司之间的专利引用不平衡，以减少有关潜在联合价值创造的信息不对称。当收购方更多地引用目标公司的专利而不是相反时，目标公司能够更好地推断出来自每家公司互补知识库的知识依赖或私人协同效应。信息不对称的减少使目标公司能够获得更高的收购溢价，这与这些预期的协同效应或依赖性是合理的。使用 2005 年至 2021 年美国高科技公司之间的收购样本，当收购方的专利组合多样化时，我们发现我们的论点得到了支持。