Institutional Shareholders' Monitoring Intensity and Mergers and Acquisitions(M&A) Decisions

The study examines the relationship between Institutional shareholders' monitoring intensity and Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Decisions in firms listed on Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). We employ the more robust Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) estimation approach to analyse the data from firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) covering the period 2004–2019. The results show that institutional shareholders' distraction significantly negatively impacts merger performance. Hence, when institutional shareholders' attention shifts due to distraction, monitoring control is relaxed, and corporate executives may acquire devaluing entities to satisfy their desired personal interests.