TY - THES ID - 135144839 TI - Serial acquisition performance in Europe AU - Boone, Jorden AU - Huyghebaert, Nancy. AU - KU Leuven. Faculteit Economie en Bedrijfswetenschappen. Opleiding Master of Science in de toegepaste economische wetenschappen PY - PB - Leuven : K.U. Leuven. Faculteit Economie en Bedrijfswetenschappen DB - UniCat UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:135144839 AB - Using a sample of 134 unique acquirers that make 464 serial acquisitions in the 1998-2012 period, this master thesis empircically investigates the determinants and trends in serial acquisition performance. European serial acquisitions can be considered as value-enhancing projects from the acquirer's point of view, as the cumulative abnormal return equals 1.60% on average. Consistent with prior literature, our multiple regression results indicate a declining trend in bidder announcement returns from deal to deal. The observed trend is most in line with the learning hypothesis as formulated by Aktas, de Bodt, and Roll (2009). Furthermore, we do not find empirical evidence that supports the one-plan hypothesis of Schipper and Thompson (1983), since acquirers earn a significant positive abnormal return until the third deal of the series. Moreover, our evidence does not support the superior-acquisition skills hypothesis, for which Croci and Petmezas (2009) find strong evidence in a U.S. setting. ER -