This research explores the effect of Buddhism on mergers & acquisitions (M&As) performance, using 4622 M&A transactions of Chinese public firms from 2004 to 2018. Herein, we offer sufficient evidence that the acquirers located in higher Buddhism intensity regions performed better for both short‐ and long‐term after merger. Furthermore, we show that state ownership also plays an essential role in mitigating its effect, whilst our channel analysis indicates that the source of value creation is driven by higher deal completion rates and fewer violation cases for acquiring firms. Finally, we address the endogeneity issue, and the results remain unaffected.

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