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Digital ecosystems penetrate many areas of modern life, they integrate many services and are growing partially through acquiring start-ups. These can lead to a rise of their market power, which in turn has caused the increased attention of antitrust regulators in recent years . The new changes into the Russian antitrust law contain the requirement for scrutiny for mergers above 7 billion of rubbles. This additional criterion is designed to include the acquisitions of startups by digital ecosystems that currently do not need to be announced to the Russian antitrust service. As for economic literature, there is no consensus on the way mergers with startups affect markets, in particular, venture capital market. The purpose of this work is to assess the effects of mergers of digital ecosystems with Russian startups in different niches of the venture investment in these niches. Methodologically, our study is based on economic theory and particularly on industrial organisation, antitrust economics; we also use econometrics while estimating causal inferences. We perform econometric analysis of panel data and matching to evaluate the effect of mergers of digital ecosystems with startups. In our quantitative analysis we use data collected from the website Rusbase, which gathers information on deals with Russian startups building primarily on open sources. In our study, we conclude that niches where digital ecosystems more actively purchase or invest in startups tend to be lower investments, smaller total and average purchase prices, which may indicate some washing out of investments in such niches. However, the effect we see may be present due to the changing popularity of niches and/or bringing forward of investor decisions, and not to the kill zone that is claimed to be one of the downsides of such mergers, since we observe a short-term increase in the number of investment decisions in a niche during the period when a startup is acquired by the digital ecosystem.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) are widespread in the business world, being one of the means of competition. They belong to agreements between two companies that become combined in one form or another. Although mergers and acquisitions are used as synonyms, they have different meanings. When merged, two companies of the same size are combined into one new enterprise. Acquisitions are a situation in which a larger company acquires a smaller company, thereby taking over the business of the latter. M&A agreements may be friendly or hostile, depending on their approval by the board of directors (management) of the target company. The main reasons for mergers and acquisitions can be called the desire of companies to increase the growth rate, strengthen and stabilize supply chains and sales of products, diversify production, optimize the tax burden, as well as strengthen their market positions due to reputational advantages. The article analyzes the normative and legislative acts of Ukraine regulating the procedure for concluding M&A agreements, as well as displaying information about them in both the accounting and the financial statements of enterprises. Regarding the regulation of the procedure for concluding M&A agreements, there are no clear definitions of these terms. These concepts are considered only in the context of methods of formation, reorganization or liquidation of enterprises. The authors have allocated some aspects of taxation of operations on the purchase and sale of assets and shares in the implementation of M&A agreements. The relevance of the chosen topic is due to the strengthening of the tendency to the concentration of resources (land banks) by large agricultural enterprises in Ukraine. The statistics on M&A agreements in the agro-industrial sector of Ukraine for the period 2018-2020 are to testify to this tendency. Positive aspects of mergers and acquisitions for agricultural enterprises, as well as risk factors that may appear as a result of an increase in the share of foreign companies in the agro-industrial sector of Ukraine, have been allocated.

The publication presents features of the modern mergers and acquisitions (M&A) process. It should be noted that in the modern world, with the growing global competition, aggressive policies of individual market participants, rapid technological changes, financial regulation and the changing role of the State in the economy, there is a need to expand the activities of large companies. The majority of the most successful companies choose the joint mode of development, such as mergers and acquisitions. As a result of mergers and acquisitions, business will grow and become more influential, and not only national governments, but also international economic organizations will not be able to depend on regulation and management. Today, among the leading domestic or foreign economists there is no consensus on the definition of the concepts of «mergers» and «acquisitions», which is explained by the diversity and complexity of the nature of these processes. The main types of these processes have been identified and their characterizations are provided. When researching the processes of mergers and acquisitions of enterprises, their main differences are determined. It is proved that in an ever-changing market, increased competition and well-thought-out and well-made transactions on international mergers and acquisitions can significantly increase the value of companies. At the present stage, international mergers and acquisitions occupy strong positions in the policy of private companies as the main strategic instrument for business development.

M&A are still relevant and discussing according to global and Russian M&A statistics (value and count) and Management Tools & Trends survey, conducting by Bain & Company since 1993. Based on more than 10 surveys took place in different time M&A deals results were analyzed in different aspects, including top reasons why M&A have not generated expected value. Key M&A trends were analyzed: shift from scale deals to scope deals, complex corporate ecosystems occurring, time to close an M&A deal has risen in the last decade etc. As an illustration a few famous M&A failures were presented with results summary. Most important factors in achieving a successful M&A were defined and grouped in accordance with integration stages.

The study includes an analysis of various levels of strategies for changing the positions of companies in the existing global value creation chains. First of all, companies in the technology sector of the economy in the Asian region, including companies of South Korea and China, have been considered. As the result of the research, some factors influencing the change in the subordinate position of companies in global value creation chains, -have been presented. In addition, the impact of these factors on changing positions of companies in the high-tech sector in global value creation chains has been analysed. The most frequently repeated factors have been structured and presented as a table.

The Companies Act 71 of 2008 (the 2008 Act) replaced the Companies Act No. 61 of 1973, effective 1 May 2011. The 2008 Act was aimed at keeping pace with developments in company law internationally. It is not intended to entirely replace the well-established principles and has largely retained the pre-existing South African company law. The mergers and acquisitions provisions are aimed at creating transparent, efficient, and simple procedures. Different types of mergers and acquisitions are clearly defined as “affected transactions” or “offers” in section 117. Section 118 provides for companies to which the provisions apply. The reasons for regulating these transactions and powers of the regulator – The Takeover Regulation Panel, have been reviewed, clarified, and improved. The previous section on disposal of all or greater part of assets or undertaking of a company has been re-written. The 2008 Act further introduces a new type of affected transaction in section 113, in the form of a “merger” or an “amalgamation.” The 2008 Act has retained the scheme of arrangement in section 114, but has changed its format by removing compulsory court application and approval. The courts get involved under certain prescribed circumstances. The 2008 Act has enhanced shareholder protection for fundamental transactions in the form of section 164 – Appraisal Rights and section 115, dealing with shareholder approval of fundamental transactions. Some scholars and practitioners have criticised certain provisions. However, in general, the provisions have received favourable commentary. They regarded as progressive and comparable with others internationally.

This research paper studies the impact of domestic Russian mergers and acquisitions on the operating profit margin of companies participating in deals. The goal of the research is to evaluate the changes in operating profit margin, and to analyse the significance of factors affecting operating profit margin after deals have been concluded.The main scientific contribution of this research is the development of a methodology to analyse the effect of mergers and acquisitions on operating profit margins that takes into account the idiosyncratic features of the Russian market, and which can be used with limited information for analysis of private companies. The proposed methodology is based on benchmarking the operating profit margin of companies participating in a deal against the same variable for a portfolio of similar companies. Based on the analysis of recent studies, several explanatory variables were proposed to explain the changes in operating profit margin after the deal. Among these were included real GDP growth, type and value of the deal, book value of assets of the target company, as well as a number of control variables. A random effects model with robust standard errors was used to test the significance of factors affecting operating profit margin. This methodology was applied to a sample of 73 domestic Russian deals observed in the period 2012-2019.This research makes several practical contributions to the literature. In the studied sample, deals lead to an increase of operating profit margin by 4.6% relative to the period before the deal, and 2.5% relative to the benchmark portfolio. The highest growth of operating profit margin relative to the benchmark portfolio is observed 2 years after the deal. This growth is increased by the purchase of large companies in the same industry. There is a significant negative effect of the deal value and a strong indication that buyers tend to overpay for the target companies relative to their fair value.This research will be of practical use for persons in management positions to estimate the value of prospective deals, and for academic researchers interested in the analysis of mergers and acquisitions in emerging markets.

Although the EU is generally interested in foreign investment, foreign direct investment (FDI) from China is often of some concern. Despite this, the EU at the present stage of development faces the challenge of reforming its foreign direct investment policy in such a way as to simultaneously achieve the following goals: to protect the EU’s current openness as to FDI (including the China’s); to solve the security problems that arise for some types of FDI; to ensure better openness and a level playing field for European FDI in China. The article is aimed at studying the threats and opportunities that arise from China’s direct foreign investment in the EU and their impact on the entire geographical region. The article analyzes the processes taking place in the mutual relations between the EU and China in the context of foreign direct investment implemented by the chinese part. It is proved that China, by investing in the EU countries, seeks access to: the latest technologies, the European market, the third-country markets (through the European market), the European brands, as well as influence on the political and economic processes at the level of the European region in general. The regional distribution of China’s foreign direct investment to the EU countries is considered. It is determined that the most interesting for chinese investors are the economically powerful countries - Great Britain, France and Germany. As for the regional distribution of direct investment, it is at present relatively uniform. The current tendencies in the change of the EU’s strategic priorities in terms of investment strategy are defined. The threats posed by China’s direct investment in the EU economies are being examined. In this process mainly allocated are the economic and political threats. From an economic point of view, FDI from China can affect the status of competition and generally lead to a redistribution of value, and from a political point of view, to contribute to the spread of China’s influence at the geopolitical level. A list of measures that can be implemented to reduce China’s economic and political influence on the European countries as recipients of direct investment is considered.

The article is devoted to the issues of mergers and acquisitions of agricultural enterprises of Ukraine, in order to gain new opportunities in competition. The main competitive advantages, which are additionally obtained by weak agribusiness enterprises in forming an integration association with more promising enterprises in this industry, are highlighted. Today, despite the fact that our country is very interested in increasing sales to foreign markets, especially EU markets, under free trade conditions, the question remains about increasing the competitiveness of Ukrainian enterprises and enlarging their volumes. That is why the topic of this research is relevant and has some practical significance for the further development not only of individual enterprises, but also of the agrarian sphere of the economy of Ukraine as a whole. The purpose of this article is to outline the importance of processes such as mergers and acquisitions to improve the competitive advantage of agribusiness. According to the objective, the task was to investigate the current trends in the development of agribusinesses in the context of mergers and acquisitions that have already taken place. The main methods of this study are the methods of empirical research, such as observation, comparison, measurement, as well as abstraction, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction. The results of the study have drawn conclusions on the positive impact of such processes as mergers and acquisitions on the competitiveness of agribusinesses. The value of the research. Scientific and practical significance of the work. The research is of practical value, as evidenced by the recommendations, to improve the competitive position of businesses operating in the agricultural sector by consolidating their businesses and increasing their capital through mergers with other enterprises.

The article deals with studying the institutional dysfunction of the Russian market of mergers and acquisitions. It proves that problems of functioning and quality of formal regulating institutions hinder its effective development. The contradiction of interests between the state as a subject of regulation and the state as a participant of the market resulted in forming institutional microdysfunctions connected with “double standards” of law enforcement for different types of owners, striving to obtain bureaucracy rent, intertwining functional actions of the state as a regulator and the state as a market participant. This contributed to the regular blocking of the trap effect in applying valuation norms in the antitrust law, causing impossibility to effectively prevent unfair deals and at the same time hinder fair and effective deals in the Russian market of mergers and acquisitions. To settle this problem it is required to use changes aimed at reducing asymmetric information between subjects of the Russian market of mergers and acquisitions and the state, and also blocking informal institutions which are in conflict with formal regulating institutions. Improving evaluation methods of economic analysis in the antitrust practice, expanding informal control (such as making independent expert research of future substantial deals and also analyzing performed deals) will contribute to overcoming the existing dysfunctions of the Russian market of mergers and acquisitions.

The article is aimed at defining the current status of mergers and acquisitions in India’s pharmaceutical sector. India’s position in the global pharmaceutical market is considered. The main stages of evolution of the Indian pharmaceutical sector are provided. It is defined that, by the location of their assets and the presence of original products in the product portfolio, the largest pharmaceutical companies in India are among the largest generic TNCs. The authors analyze activities of leading pharmaceutical companies that play a key role in the development of the industry in India: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Cipla, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Lupin, and Aurobindo; the largest mergers and acquisitions of these companies in recent years are researched. The authors systematize the main motives of the mergers and acquisitions of the Indian pharmaceutical companies, in which the following can be included: increasing the market share; broaden options to create a good product range; access to a powerful, modern and approved material and technical resources base outside India; economies of scale.

The purpose of this research is the assessment of the competitive environment in the Russian oil market. The subject-matter of the study is the Russian oil and gas companies as a basis of the Energy market. We check the hypothesis about the development of the mechanism of corrective condition in the sphere of preliminary control of market concentrations in the fuel and energy complex (FEC). The basis of this research is the modern theory of industry markets studying various structures of the markets, the behavior of their participants, probable consequences of their functioning and interaction, as well as the impact of the state on the functioning of markets, its participants, and the results of their activities. We calculated and analyzed the key indicators characterizing the processes of market concentration in the oil industry. We also considered the competition policy of the Russian Federation in mergers and acquisitions deals (M&A deals) concerning oil and gas assets. The authors estimated over 460 decisions made by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation for the period from 2011 to 2015 in the control on economic concentration in fuel-and-energy industry. Based on the data characterizing the development of competitive environment, we have proved that the considered goods market belongs to markets with insufficiently developed competition. The results of the research will make a certain contribution to studying the efficiency of M&A transactions in the oil and gas industry, and also can be applied for the implementation of anti-monopoly actions by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation.

In the article have been analyzed the construction industry in Russia and its regions, also considered the current situation in this segment of the economy, the absorption of large companies. Proposed solutions to optimize the construction business.

In the article have been analyzed the construction industry in Russia and its regions, also considered the current situation in this segment of the economy, the absorption of large companies. Proposed solutions to optimize the construction business.

In article mergers and acquisitions are considered as a tool of financial recovery of companies. Besides, this mechanism is analyzed by the example of Daewoo and General Motors.

The basic conceptual foundations of financial potential mergers and acquisitions, as factors of corporations external growth are investigated, existing approaches to the concept of restructuring are generalized, necessary components of the absorption capacity of the corporation are defined.