CHAPMAN K. and EDMOND H. (2000) Mergers/acquisitions and restructuring in the EU chemical industry: patterns and implications, Reg. Studies 34, 753-767. High levels of merger/acquisition activity, especially international transactions, have been a characteristic of the global economy since the mid - 1980s. A significant proportion of this activity has been focused on the EU where it has been stimulated by economic integration. Research into the phenomenon has been limited by data availability. Information from a Royal Society of Chemistry database is used to examine mergers/acquisitions in the European chemical industry. This is a key sector of the European economy which has accounted for a substantial proportion of mergers/ acquisitions in manufacturing. Attention is focused upon an important period of change immediately before and after the creation of the Single European Market (i.e. 1986-95). The connections between mergers/acquisitions, corporate restructuring and industry restructuring are explored together with implications for the changing geography of the EU production system. Mergers/acquisitions are both a symptom and, more importantly, a cause of accelerated change in this system as they facilitate the transformation of corporate identities. Some of the wider consequences of such transformations are addressed by exploring the geographical pattern of cross - border mergers/acquisitions in the EU chemical industry. A systematic transfer of corporate control is demonstrated as companies based in northern Europe have acquired those based in southern Europe. Reasons for this pattern are identified together with implications of post - merger/acquisition restructuring for places and, more generally, for economic and social cohesion within the EU. The need for more detailed empirical studies of corporate restructuring is stressed. CHAPMAN K. et EDMOND H. (2000) Fusions/acquisitions et restructuration de l'industrie chimique dans l'Ue: tendances et retombées, Reg. Studies 34, 753-767. Depuis le milieu des années 1980, l'économie mondiale se caractérise par de nombreuses fusions/acquisitions, surtout des opérations internationales. Encouragée par l'intégration économique, une proportion non-négligeable de ces opérations s'est focalisée sur l'Ue. La disponibilité des données limite la recherche sur ce phénomène. A partir d'une base de données provenant de l'Académie de chimie (Royal Society of Chemistry), on examine les fusions/acquisitions dans l'industrie chimique europénne. C'est un secteur-clé de l'économie européenne qui a assuré une proportion considérable des fusions/acquisitions industrielles. On attire l'attention sur une période transitoire, juste avant et après le moment où le marché unique européen arrive à échéance (à savoir, de 1986 à 1995). Les liens entre les fusions/acquisitions, la restructuration d'entreprise et la restructuration industrielle se voient examiner conjointement avec leurs retombées éventuelles sur la géographie du système de production européen en pleine évolution. Les fusions/a...

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The limitations of existing information sources on mergers/acquisitions within the EU are a serious obstacle to the study of the restructuring of the European production system. The experience of using a computerized abstracting service as a source of information on mergers/acquisitions in the chemical industry is reviewed. This experience informs an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of similar databases as information sources in economic geography. The proliferation of such databases, together with advances in text management software, suggests that their potential has not been fully appreciated. This potential is considerable in providing easy access to detailed factual information on economic events and processes at continental and global scales. It is, however, strictly limited when it comes to interpreting the corporate strategies and motivations responsible for these developments.