The Emerging Role of the European Commission in Merger and Acquisition Monitoring: The Boeing–McDonnell Douglas Case

Abstract

The object of this study is to evaluate the consequences of the application of the EEC Regulation 4064a89 to non-European companies. We focus on the Boeing± McDonnell Douglas merger case, one of the first non-European mergers considered by the Commission. The analysis of abnormal returns on the two securities shows that the threat of a ban of the merger by the Commission were not perceived as credible at first. But when Boeing decided to ask the support of the American government, just after the decision of the European Commission to extend its investigations to the long term exclusivity contracts, the role of the Commission emerged.

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