Gene

Financial system

Linguistics

Engineering

Philosophy

Ecology

Biology

Statistics

Robustness (evolution)

China

Archaeology

Broadband

Telecommunications

Economics

Biochemistry

Computer science

Mergers and acquisitions

Business

Natural experiment

Competition (biology)

Broadband networks

Mathematics

Geography

Political science

Monetary economics

Industrial organization

Chemistry

Finance

Affect (linguistics)

International Review of Financial Analysis

This study investigates the relationship between broadband infrastructure and corporate M&A. Using the shock of "Broadband China" policy, we conduct difference-in-differences estimations and find that broadband infrastructure significantly increases corporate M&A, which remains robust after a series of robustness checks. Further analysis shows that the underlying mechanism is alleviating information asymmetry and increasing market competition. Finally, the heterogeneity analysis shows that our results are significant mainly in the group with high regional market segmentation, manufacturing industries, and non-state enterprises. Overall, this study enriches the research on the driving factors of M&A at the firm level and provides a micro-level evaluation of economic consequences of broadband infrastructure.

Does broadband infrastructure affect corporate mergers and acquisitions? Quasi-natural experimental evidence from China