DOES CORPORATE GOVERNANCE INFLUENCE THE PERFORMANCE OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS?

This thesis investigates the impact of equity corporate governance and debt corporate governance on the financial performance of M&A deals for US firms in the period from 2007 until 2018. Additionally, this study seeks to identify which corporate governance mechanisms are associated with the acquiror’s cumulative abnormal returns. Corporate governance variables taken into consideration in this studyinclude board-related variables,ownership-related variables, compensation related variables and monitoring-related variables. The sample includesM&A deals between 2007 and 2018 and is analyzed by multiple regression models. Results indicate an interaction effect of equity corporate governance and debt corporate governance on cumulative abnormal returns.This study supports evidence for reducing the agency problem by implementing equity and debt corporate governance.