Researcher ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6060-3770
Graduation Year
2026
Date of Submission
12-2025
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Economics
Reader 1
Professor Benjamin Gillen
Rights Information
2025 Aaryan Magan
Abstract
The software industry in the United States has seen a period of sustained merger and acquisition (M&A) activity as firms seek synergies in diverse product offerings, efficiency plays, or intellectual capital. Within this activity is also a subset of deals that comprise U.S. acquirers transacting with foreign companies. These cross-border transactions have become an integral part of M&A strategy for companies across all industries. This paper aims to gauge investor sentiment regarding cross-border M&A deals in the software industry relative to domestic M&A deals in the software industry. The event-study methodology captures Cumulative Abnormal Returns (CAR) in two distinct event study windows: 10 days before and after the announcement date for a transaction and 3 days before and after the same announcement date. The objective of conducting this study is to gauge how investors view the associated challenges and merits of a cross-border M&A in software. The results yield no significant evidence of any difference in CARs between cross-border and domestic transactions even after controlling for deal size, macro-industry match, and mid-industry match. These findings suggest that investors see cross-border software M&A similarly to domestic transactions, which is in line with increasing globalization and the intangible nature of software-driven businesses.
Recommended Citation
Magan, Aaryan, "Market Reactions to Software M&A: Cross-Border vs. Domestic Evidence" (2026). CMC Senior Theses. 4303.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/4303
