TY  - JOUR
AU  - Pesendorfer,Martin
TI  - Horizontal Mergers in the Paper Industry
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 6751
PY  - 1998
Y2  - October 1998
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6751
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6751.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Martin Pesendorfer
Department of Economics
London School of Economics
Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 020 795 6783
Fax: 203/432-6323
E-Mail: M.Pesendorfer@lse.ac.uk
AB  - This paper examines mergers and acquisitions in the US paper and paperboard industry.  This industry experienced a wave of horizontal mergers during the mid 1980s.  We study implications of mergers on consumers, rival firms, and welfare.  The analysis is based on a model of investment decisions.  We compare the equilibrium investment decisions prior to and after the merger wave.  The evidence indicates that the efficiency of the majority of acquiring firms increases following an acquisition.  Based on the parameter estimates, we calculate merger welfare effects.  We find that total welfare increased by $583.5 million as a result of the mergers.
ER  -