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Cross‐border acquisitions (CBAs) exhibit a wave‐like pattern, clustering temporally, industry‐wise, and at the country level. We draw upon the bargaining power perspective and argue that CBA wave context alters the relative bargaining position between acquirer and target firms, which affects deal completion. Our findings suggest that acquisition wave deals have a lower likelihood of completion compared to non‐wave deals. However, within a CBA wave, we find that acquirers that move early and with a high acquisition pace have a higher likelihood of deal completion. We test our arguments on a simulation‐based dataset comprising 17,815 wave and non‐wave deals identified between 1990 and 2012 across 13 acquirer and 21 target countries. We contribute to the CBA literature by differentiating between wave and non‐wave environments and their impact on deal completion. Cross‐border acquisitions (CBAs) often happen in waves that emerge at the industry and country‐levels. These waves are characterized by heightened level of acquisition activities such that the relative position of acquirer and target firms is different within waves as compared to outside of the waves. As a result, acquisition deals announced within waves are less likely to be completed than those announced outside of the waves. At the same time, acquiring firms that announce acquisitions at an early stage within a CBA wave and move with a faster speed to conduct more acquisitions are more likely to successfully close the deals than other firms.