Broadband Deployment and M&A Activities: Evidence from Listed Firms in China

Abstract

This paper explores the causal effect of broadband deployment on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) using data from Chinese-listed firms between 2011 and 2022. Leveraging the ”Broadband China” policy as an exogenous source of variation, we employ a staggered Differencesin-differences methodology to analyze how access to broadband Internet affects the decision of firms to engage in M&A transactions and its impact on firm performance. Our findings indicate that broadband deployment significantly increases the probability of firms initiating M&A transactions and finishing them successfully. These results are mainly driven by transactions that involve the complete acquisition of targeted firms, and that occur between f irms of the same city or the same province. Our analysis reveals that broadband-driven M&As do not significantly impact the firms’ total factor productivity, but we do find that they lead to a decrease in labor productivity and an increase in employment. The positive impact on employment occurs in all industries, whereas the reduction in labor productivity is significant only in some regulated activities such as electricity, heat, gas, and water production industries.

BANDA AMPLA

BROADBAND