DOES SUSTAINABILITY MATTER IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS? THE CASE OF THE SERBIAN FOOD INDUSTRY

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj2001025D

Keywords:

Mergers and acquisitions, sustainability, Serbia, foodprocessing industry

Abstract

This paper investigated key areas in which environmental, social and governance issues may be important in M&A transactions, with a particular emphasis on the Serbian food industry. The analysis was conducted using a sample of 11 realized M&As in the Republic of Serbia with the food producers as target companies and is based on the data acquired from the targets` annual reports and web sites. The analysed transactions, that have been
randomly elected, belong to different legal types of M&A: acquisition of asset, acquisition of shares, tender offer and merger/consolidation. Following the classification of sustainability issues, two types of M&A in the Serbian food industry have been distinguished: one enables the acquirer to build the presence in the key segments with sustainability products in line with modern health trends, while the other helps the buyer to improve synergies and consolidate leadership position by acquiring target with a recognized sustainability profile and credibility. 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

1.Bonny, S. (2017). Corporate Concentration and Technological Change in the Global Seed Industry. Sustainability, 9(9), 1632. doi:10.3390/su9091632

2. Caiazza, R., & Volpe, T. (2015). M&A process: a literature review and research agenda. Business Process Management Journal, 21(1), 205-220. doi: 10.1108/BPMJ-11-2013-0145

3. Clapp, J. (2018). Mega-Mergers on the Menu: Corporate Concentration and the Politics of Sustainability in the Global Food System. Global Environmental Politics, 18(2), 12-33. doi: 10.1162/glep_a_00454

4. Cooper, B. (2018). How sustainability is influencing M&A in the food industry. Just-Food, Aroq Ltd, Retrieved from https://www.just-food.com/analysis/howsustainability-is-influencing-ma-in-the-food-industry_id137781.aspx (July 10, 2019)

5. Deloitte (2008). How Green is the Deal? The Growing Role of Sustainability in M&A. Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/il/Documents/risk/CCG/other_comittees/how_green_is_the_deal_deloitte_102408.pdf (June 15, 2018)

6. Denčič-Mihajlov, K. & Spasić, D. (2018). Mergers and acquisition as competitive strategies in the digitalization era. In: Strategic Management and Decision Support Systems in Strategic Management (pp. 47-53), Subotica: Ekonomski fakultet (in Serbian: Merdžeri i akvizicije kao konkurentske strategije u eri digitalizacije).

7. Denčić-Mihajlov, K. & Stojanović Blab, M. (2017). Sustainability Reporting – Trends in Regulation and Challenges in Implementation. In Michalke, A., Rambke, M. & Zeranski, S. (Eds.), Vernetztes Risiko- und Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement - Erfolgreiche Navigation durch die Komplexität und Dynamik des Risikos (pp. 27- 42), Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-19684-4_4

8. Denčić-Mihajlov, K. & Zeranski, S. (2017).Development of sustainability indicators: approaches, challenges and opportunities. FACTA UNIVERSITATIS, Series: Economics and Organization, 14(4), 291 – 306. doi: 10.22190/FUEO1704291D

9. Development Agency of Serbia (2017). Agriculture, Food and Beverages. Retrieved from https://ras.gov.rs/en/agriculture-food-and-beverages (September 2, 2019)

10. FoodDive. (2015). Top 10 food and beverage industry trends — and why they matter. Retrieved from https://www.fooddive.com/news/top-10-food-and-beverageindustry-trends-and-why-they-matter/404484/ (August 1, 2019)

11. Hečková, J., Štefko, R., Frankovský, M., Birknerová, Z., Chapčáková, A. & Zbihlejová, L. (2019). Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions as a Challenge for Sustainable Business. Sustainability, 11(11), 3130. doi: 10.3390/su11113130

12. IMАА. (2017). М&А Statsitics. Retrieved from https://imaa-institute.org (May 3, 2019)

13. Law on Accounting, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia No 62/2013, 30/2018, 73/2019 – other law

14. Maloni, M. & Brown, E. (2006). Corporate Social Responsibility in the Supply Chain: An Application in the Food Industry. Journal of Business Ethics, 68, 35-52.

15. Mannheimer Swartling. (2017). Sustainability in M&A transactions. Retrieved from https://www.mannheimerswartling.se/en/news/in-focus/sustainability-in-matransactions/ (May 5, 2019)

16. Manocha, P., Srai, J., & Kumar, M. (2016). Understanding the role of Sustainability in Mergers & Acquisitions from the perspective of Supply Chain Management – How green is the deal? Paper presented at the 20th Cambridge International Manufacturing Symposium, retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.6150

17. Momčilović, M., Begović-Vlaović, S., Tomašević, S. & Ercegovac, D. (2015). Sustainable Growth Rate: Evidence from Agricultural and Food Enterprises. Management, 76, 63-75.

18. Price Waterhouse Coopers. (2012). The integration of environmental, social and governance issues in mergers and acquisitions transactions. Retrieved from https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/sustainability/publications/assets/pwc-the-integrationof-environmental-social-and-governance-issues-in-mergers-and-acquisitionstransactions.pdf (April 3, 2019)

19. Saat, M. & Himmelsbach, J. (2014). Sustainable Merger and Acquisition Transactions – Important Aspects as Part of a Process Model Especially for Enterprises in the Service Market. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 5 (1), 65-74.

20. Schmidt-Riediger, B. (2008). Sustainability Marketing in the German Food Processing Industry (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.

21. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. (2019). Household Budget Survey. Survey no. 072 - LXIX (in Serbian: Nacionalni zavod za statistiku. (2019). Anketa o potrošnji domaćinstva, Sopštenje br. 072 - god. LXIX) (March 3, 2019)

22. Tadić, J., Jevtić, J. & Jančev, N. (2019). Modeling of critical profitability factors: Empirical research from food industry in Serbia. Economics of Agriculture, 66(2), 411-422. doi: 10.5937/ekoPolj1902411T

23. Todorović, E. & Denčić-Mihajlov, K. (2004). Acquisition as a type of foreign direct investment in the Republic of Serbia. Economics of Enterprise, 52(3-4), 106-114. (In Serbian: Akvizicija kao oblik stranih direktnih investicija u privredu Republike Srbije. Ekonomika preduzeća, 52(3-4), 106-114)

24. UNCTAD. (2019). World Investment Report. Retrieved from http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/wir2017_en.pdf (June 10, 2019)

25. World Bank Report (2019). Country Report Serbia. Retrieved from: https://data.worldbank.org/country/serbia (June 5, 2019)

26. World Economic Forum. (2016). The Global Risks Report. Retrieved from: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GRR/WEF_GRR16.pdf (April 3, 2019)

Downloads

Published

2020-03-25

How to Cite

Dencic-Mihajlov, K. (2020). DOES SUSTAINABILITY MATTER IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS? THE CASE OF THE SERBIAN FOOD INDUSTRY. Economics of Agriculture, 67(1), 25–36. https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj2001025D

Issue

Section

Original scientific papers