Published in
Memorandum 13, 2008, Department of Economics, University of Oslo
Abstract
We set up a sequential merger game to study a firm's incentives to pass up on an opportunity to merge with another firm. We find that such incentives may exist when there are efficieny gains from a merger, firms are of different sizes, there is an antitrust authority present to approve mergers, and there is sufficient alignment of interests between the antitrust authority and the firms. We point out three distinct motives for not merging: the external-effect motive, the bargaining-power motive, and the pill-sweetening motive.