Impact of Merger & Acquisitions (M&As) on Innovation outputs

Abstract

This thesis examines the impact of merger and acquisition (M&A) on innovation outputs. The focus is on two questions, a. evaluation of pre-acquisition characteristics of intangible asset capability (patent portfolio’s) of target and acquiring companies and b. post-acquisition impact of M&As on the innovation outputs. Metal Oxide Chemical Vapour Deposition (MOCVD) technology, which is one of the primary drivers of semiconductor industry is selected for investigating the M&A trend over past two decades. A summary of the interrelationship between innovation outputs and M&A trends is deduced based on a detailed literature review and this is compared with the patent portfolio changes with time by employing quantitative research of patent data in MOCVD capital equipment domain.