The Impact of ESG on Firm Value: Evidence From M&A
Abstract
This thesis examines the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
factors on shareholder value using a large sample of mergers and acquisitions
(M&A) deals in the US. Our findings indicate a significant negative relationship
between ESG and acquirer firm value around the announcement date. In addition,
Governance pillar (G) of ESG is found as the primary contributor to this negative
relationship. These results align with shareholder expense theory, indicating that
ESG considerations impose costs on acquiring firms in the short term. However,
the long-term relationship between ESG and firm value remains inadequately
understood due to the absence of a statistically significant coefficient in this
research.
Key Words: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), shareholder expense
theory, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), Cumulative Abnormal Return (CAR),
firm value
Description
Masteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Finance - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2023