The Impact of Macroeconomic Surprises on Mergers & Acquisitions for Real Estate Investment Trusts

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of various macroeconomic and real estate specific surprises on M&A transactions involving Real Estate Investment Trusts. The 2008 financial crisis drastically affected merger & acquisition activity, especially within the real estate market. The number of M&A transactions involving Real Estate Investment Trusts was very volatile during this period of economic turmoil and it appeared that several economic factors contributed to changing patterns in M&A activity. Our study uses time series data to draw a connection between REIT-related M&A activity and quantifiable factors. From our results we find there to be a relationship between the macroeconomic environment and REIT-related M&A activity.